


I'll Save Everyone (But Myself)

by KrazyPOP



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Eventual Smut, M/M, Polyamory, THE SMUT, Threesome - M/M/M, ch.19, im rly not thinking this through wtf, it's there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-05-05 08:07:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 54,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5367803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrazyPOP/pseuds/KrazyPOP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The apocalypse wasn't really easy, but it's not like Taehyung had to face it alone</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to work on my writing skills. YAAAY!!!! Also, I'm still not sure who I wanna pair with Taetae. Yooni? Kookie? Jiminnie? It'll be one of those for sure doe. The summary might also change later because it's weird and I don't like it

Honestly, Taehyung always knew the apocalypse was gonna happen. It just happened sooner rather than later.

He was always blabbering to Jimin about what he'd do, and what the zombies would be like. Taehyung even told Jimin how he'd totally take them down with only a safety pin.

And currently, it wasn't going so well.

"Jiminnie, I seem to be in a pretty compromising predicament right now," Taehyung strained out as he kept stabbing his pin into a zombie that had just knocked his head through the window.

"For Christs' sake Tae!" Jimin yelled as he pulled his friend back. "There's a back entrance of this shitty shop, so go get the supplies we collected and I'll clear the way, got it?"

"Sir yessir!" Taehyung saluted as he began to scramble behind the counter for said scavenged supplies.

Taehyung and Jimin, now that was a pair everybody at campus had known. Never one without the either. Well, unless there was a party, then Taehyung usually tapped out. They were so close, some people had wondered if they were dating. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you asked) they were not in any romantic relationship with each other.

"Hurry, I managed to clear a couple of 'em but more'll probably come in!" Jimin shouted.

Taehyung saw Jimin swing his spiky bat into another zombie and grimaced as its blood splattered onto Jimin's shirt. Man, that'll be a pain to clean.

"Ready to go! By the way, zombies are starting to come through the window," Taehyung chirped out as he slung the bag over his shoulder. "Let's go, and make sure to protect me, my dear prince!"

"Your wish is my command," came Jimin's sarcastic reply. He kicked down the last visible zombie before waving Taehyung over. They quickly went through the alley, dodging knocked over trashcans and dead bodies. It was all going smoothly until a supposedly dead body reached out and managed to grab Taehyung's ankle.

"Fuck!" He yelled as he went down, the bag of supplies weight not really helping and great, it slipped off and was now rolling slowly away. Taehyung kicked out at the zombie, but it was persistent and wouldn't let go. As Taehyung saw its ugly face he couldn't help a shiver of fear.

Now, no matter how bad zombies were depicted on tv, they would never come close to the real thing. The zombie's hair was stringy and missing in some areas, as well as part of its skin. Its face was sickly pale and marred with innumerable scratch marks. Their eyes were glazed over, and its teeth were a disgusting yellow with bits and pieces of what Taehyung assumed was human flesh stuck in between them. Just as it was about to bite him, Jimin kicked its face, causing it to let go.

"He shoots, he scores!" Taehyung cheered as he took Jimin's outstretched hand.

"Not really the best time to joke around Taetae," Jimin scolded. He spit in the zombie's direction before grabbing Taehyung's arm.

Taehyung shrugged as he let his friend pull him along. "Tomato, potato. Now, lemme get the bag and we can leave."

Jimin rolled his eyes and let him go. "Hurry up. You know if we run into Exo then we're dead meat."

Taehyung let out a laugh. "Puh-lease! Exo? Like seriously, who has time to name their gang during the fucking apocalypse?"

"Just hurry up, okay? Besides, if you keep up with your loud mouth comments you'll just end up attracting more zombies."

Taehyung let out an annoyed sigh before he reluctantly complied. Today is not a good day to die, Taehyung thought. He quickly found the bag and they were out, only running into a couple of zombies on the way back.

"We're home!" Taehyung yelled as Jimin hoisted him over a fence. Said fence was actually more of a brick wall, surrounding a pretty impressive two-story house that had probably been occupied by some rich couple before the infection took over. When Taehyung and Jimin had stumbled onto it, only a couple of zombies were in the vicinity and were quickly taken care of. The fence, or wall, was about 8 ft. high, and completely surrounded the house, besides the gate for the driveway. They had barricaded the gate with a car from the garage so the zombies couldn't break in that easily.

"Find anything?" A curious voice asked. After Taehyung helped Jimin up he turned to see Seokjin, a hand over his eyes to shade them from the sun.

"Yup-"

"Yeah," Jimin interrupted, "But we would've been here much faster if blockhead over here hadn't wasted so much time." He unceremoniously pushed Taehyung off and laughed at his friend's cries.

"Yah! I could have broke my leg!" Taehyung groaned, sending a glare at his ex-bestfriend, "Or my arm! Do you want deadweight? Huh, Jimin?"

Jimin kept on laughing as he jumped down himself, rolling to soften the blow, "How mature of you to throw a loud ass tantrum, Tae."

Taehyung just continued to glare at him before sending puppy eyes to Seokjin. Jimin rolled his eyes and started walking to the house, "Silent treatment, reeeal mature."

Seokjin let out an amused smile before putting on a serious look, "Are you okay?" He knelt down and started to check Taehyung's arms and legs for any injuries. "Any injuries?"

Taehyung shook his head, "Nah, hyung. I was just making a scene to guilt that brat," he let out a sigh, "It didn't work."

Seokjin helped Taehyung up and they started making their way to the house. Taehyung nodded along as Seokjin filled him in on what Yoongi and them scavenged.

"You guys found chocolate!?" Taehyung couldn't control his excitement and started to jump up and down around Seokjin, "Can I have some? Please? Pretty please? I haven't tasted it in so long!"

Seokjin laughed at his reaction, "Sorry but-"

Taehyung yelped in pain as somebody hit the back of his head. He turned around, ready to cuss the offender out, but shrinked away instead.

"That chocolate is for everybody you selfish bastard," Yoongi scowled at the younger. Taehyung nodded, bowing slightly in fear. Min Yoongi was tough as nails and probably took Taehyung and Jimin forever to win his trust.

One beautiful day, Yoongi had stumbled upon Taehyung and Jimin's humble abode with Namjoon and Seokjin. They pretty much threatened Taehyung and Jimin with their guns to be let in. It was awkward, being kept prisoner in their own base. But it had happened because neither Jimin, nor Taehyung, knew how to operate any gun, at all.

Seokjin had been the first to warm up to them, saying that Taehyung reminded him of a cute (and dumb) younger brother. Of course Taehyung protested that he was not 'cute', but failed when Seokjin asked him to explain how birds were sky fish. In Taehyung's opinion, Seokjin was the nicest (and most good looking) person he's seen during the apocalypse so far.

Sometimes though, Taehyung would walk in on Seokjin sitting on the couch, looking down sadly at a small picture in his hand. He never got a good look at it since Seokjin would hastily put it away whenever he saw Taehyung or anybody else, sending them a smile that never really reached his eyes.

Namjoon was second to accept them as he had admired Jimin's handy ability to fix things up. Jimin had made his own bat, and showed it off (with a gun pointed at him) while he explained how he had made it. Unsurprisingly, Namjoon was very destructive, leaving broken objects in his wake. Taehyung had thought he was scary at first with his stoic face and tall height, but he was just as clumsy as Taehyung. It was refreshing and funny to watch him lug around in the morning, half-asleep and insulting Jimin whether the latter was awake or not.

Namjoon had explained that he had a brother that owned a tattoo shop before everything happened. He even started to tell Taehyung an elaborate story behind the dragon tattoo that trailed from his forearm to his neck before growing somber and shutting himself off. After that he would disappear for hours on end. He ended up always coming back before dusk, but never really returned with all his sanity intact.

Yoongi was harder to crack. He always glared at them, waving his shotgun around threateningly, telling them to fuck off. Taehyung was secretly grateful (and surprised) that Yoongi never threw them out to be a tasty meal for the zombies. Taehyung never told anybody, not even Yoongi, that one night he had overheard the older rapping passionately about someone, about a boy who he described as lost and lonely, praying for something to change, only for nothing to happen. He felt something wet on his cheeks and when he touched it, realized that he was crying. Crying for the lost boy, crying for the pain Yoongi must have gone through to sound that broken and distressed.

The next day Taehyung made sure to be extra nice to Yoongi, no matter how many times the other told him to fuck off. Jimin even helped him make a crappy bracelet from twine and rope as a late birthday present. Yoongi had scoffed when he first presented it. Taehyung had felt tears well up, embarrassed at how childish his gift was. He had thrown it away and locked himself in a small bedroom upstairs berating his actions. Seokjin and Jimin had tried to convince him to come out but he refused. After going one day with no food or water he finally came out. Taehyung had stumbled around, bumping into Yoongi and he couldn't help but stare, more importantly, at the older's wrist. His wrist, which had a very ugly piece of red twine slash rope wrapped around it. Taehyung cried, making sure to give Yoongi the tightest hug in his life. Yoongi had just grumbled and complained, slightly patting the younger's head. Taehyung had never felt happier at that moment.

Until now.

"Please Yoongi hyung, just one bite!" Taehyung whined. He kept pawing at the older's back but Yoongi just shrugged him off, "I swear I'll die if I don't get a sliver of chocolate. Hyung, hyung, hyung, pleeease!"

Before Taehyung even knew what was happening, Yoongi had him down in a choke hold, "Yah brat, if I said no, then no. Clear?"

"Crystal," he struggled to reply, sending a smile up at Yoongi.

"Cheeky brat," Taehyung heard Yoongi mutter as he was released. The older gave one last look over at him before making his way to the kitchen, "Better hide that shit before you get your grubby hands on it ..."

Seokjin patted Taehyung's back when the other hugged him in despair, "Don't worry, you'll eventually get some chocolate ... I think." Taehyung just let out an annoyed groan. Seokjin pulled his back and ruffled his hair, "It's not the end of the world, Tae. Now, what did you and Jimin find?"

Taehyung perked up at that and picked up the bag he had been carrying. "Hyung, we found some chips, hopefully not expired, two bottles of water, some packs of gum, aaand," Taehyung dug around a bit before letting out a pleased hum, "About six Hershey bars ...? Yeah, six!"

"Hershey bars?" Yoongi's voice suddenly growled behind him. Taehyung froze up and casted a quick glance at Seokjin. He gave Taehyung a sympathetic look before patting his head and leaving him alone with the grumpy monster that is Yoongi, "Six fucking Hershey bars and you're asking for the chocolate we just managed to get?"

Taehyung let out a fearful whimper before turning around to look into Yoongi's petrifying glare, "I mean, I-I was gonna share it with you guys, hyung ..." he trailed off.

Yoongi glared at him a little longer before taking Taehyung's bag in one hand and his neck in the other. His tight grip caused Taehyung to wince and hunch slightly as he was taller then the another by a couple inches.

"Owowowowowow, hyuuung!"

"What'd he do now?" Namjoon's bored voice asked when they entered the living room.

"Watch him," was all Yoongi said before he pushed Taehyung toward the couch. He left to go to the kitchen, probably, and Taehyung glared at where he exited, mumbling a few choice words under his breath.

"Woah there, what if Yoongi heard all that?" Namjoon smirked as Taehyung's head whipped back, giving him a wide eyed look.

"Don't tell him!" Taehyung begged. He crawled onto the couch and layed his head on Namjoon's lap, "Pleeease?" He whined, bringing out his last resort puppy eyes, "I'll even give you half of one of my Hershey bars."

Namjoon laughed and ruffled his hair, "I was just kidding you big baby. And only half of one when you have six? Stingy kid. Anyways, I just wanted to know where Jimin is. You know?"

Taehyung shrugged before he got up, "Probably wasting his water on cleaning that bat of his."

It grew quiet as Taehyung got distracted by a loose string on his shirt. He played with it for a while but snapped out of it when he heard the faint noises of the zombies groaning and bumping into the gate. He got up and walked over to the window to check it out. Even though they'd been in this house for three months, he knew they would have to leave when local supplies ran out.

It would be such a waste, Taehyung thought as he continued to gaze at the zombies outside. He didn't wanna leave, ever ...

"What's wrong, sunshine?" Jimin's voice interrupted the silence as he sidled next to Taehyung, "Man, those fuckers just won't leave, will they?"

Taehyung let out a strained laugh, his previous thoughts having brought down his mood, "Yeah, so annoying right?"

Jimin instantly picked up on his friend's less than enthusiastic reply. He elbowed him slightly, making sure there was no force in the gesture, "Hey, did you hear Yoongi hyung talking to Seokjin hyung? Apparently Yoongi hyung risked his neck for that chocolate they got. Wonder why he'd go that far ..."

"... really?" Taehyung mumbled. He layed his head on Jimin's shoulder, letting out a content sigh, "Hyung does unnecessary stuff, doesn't he?" He felt his fondness for Yoongi grow, a smile pulling at his lips.

Jimin let out a quiet laugh. He wrapped an arm around Taehyung's waist and nodded slightly, "Yeah, but that's Yoongi hyung for you."

That night Taehyung was tossing and turning in his bed, his earlier thoughts plaguing his dreams. He finally got up, giving up on sleep in general. He glanced out the window and noticed that the sun was just barely starting to light up the sky, red streaks in a usually dark night.

Damn, it wasn't even his shift and now he'll be tired as hell. Taehyung ruffled his head, still too tired to be annoyed. He picked up his jeans from the floor and slipped them on, not really bothering to put on a proper short and just stuck with his dirty (used to be) white t-shirt.

"Namjoon hyung, I'll take over," he yawned out when he stumbled outside. Namjoon had been patrolling the area, walking around in circles and occasionally waving his rifle around. Taehyung never asked where they got their guns from, but he always felt a bit suspicious that they were never originally theirs'. Taehyung guessed some questions were better left unanswered.

"You sure?" Came Namjoon's tired reply. Taehyung patted his back and gently pushed him towards the house.

"Yeah, don't worry," he waved around the pink hello kitty bat that Jimin jokingly gave him a couple months back, but was instead surprised at how attached Taehyung had gotten to it. "I'll reign a fiery pink hell if any zombie losers try to break in. Get some sleep, okay?"

Namjoon nodded and rubbed his eyes before finally retreating inside the house.

Taehyung sighed, still a bit tired. He decided to do a few laps around the house to wake himself up. On his third lap, Taehyung heard something in the distance that sounded eerily like a gunshot. He slowed down to a jog and started to go toward the noise's direction. After waiting a while, the gunshot sounded again, this time a bit closer. Taehyung looked around and noticed that there were no zombies by the gate, all probably rushing to the gunshot.

Since no zombies were by the gate, Taehyung decided to climb on the car to get a better look over the pesky fence wall. As he leaned on the gate he saw a light, probably from a flashlight or something, and heard a couple more gunshots ring out. A couple minutes later and he saw the light start moving his way, and fast. He quickly pulled himself back and rushed to the house. He opened the door and was met by a serious looking Yoongi.

"You, Jimin, and Seokjin go to the back of the the house with the supplies. Me and Namjoon'll cover you guys if anybody tries to come in," Yoongi quietly explained, his voice raspy from sleep. He put a couple more rounds into his shotgun, a well kept USAS-12 that Yoongi never let anybody else touch.

Taehyung nodded and quickly ran past him to get their bags of necessities. Jimin already had a backpack starpped to his back and was already shoving another one into Taehyung's hands. He grabbed his bat and Taehyung's arm, dragging him to the backyard.

Seokjin was already moving a table to the corner so they could climb on it to get out. He didn't have a weapon since he wasn't really much of a fighter, but he did have two bags. One with food and the smaller bag holding medicines, like antibiotics and painkillers.

"What's happening?" Seokjin's weary voice showed how tired he was. He had even took the patrol shift before Namjoon, only getting a rough two hours of sleep.

"Somebody's coming," Taehyung whispered, glancing back at the house, "Not sure who it is and if they're coming to us, but I heard a couple of gunshots."

Seokjin nodded and they started to pack themselves on the table, ready to go if anything were to happen.

Taehyung strained his ears, hoping to pick up noises from the stranger's. The only thing he ended up hearing was his quickening heartbeat and Seokjin catching his breath. Seconds passed, and nothing happened. Maybe the people or person left.

Or maybe not.

"Let me in!" Taehyung picked up a male's desperate voice. It was quite loud and labored, obviously from running so much.

"If you don't leave, I won't hesitate to shoot you," Yoongi's calm voice trailed back.

The wind started to pick up and Taehyung didn't catch the rest of what they said. He went to pull his hoodie up but realized he left it in his room. Man, that was his favorite hoodie! He mentally groaned.

"Fine, you can come in, but unload your gun," Taehyung finally managed to hear and he couldn't help a surprised noise from escaping his lips.

"Shut up," Jimin hissed, elbowing him as a repercussion. Taehyung flipped him off while sticking his tongue out. Jimin rolled his eyes.

"C'mon guys," Namjoon had come back, his face tense and worried. "Suga hyung says it's safe to meet the new guy."

And, okay, apparently they couldn't trust the newbie with their names but Taehyung was fine with it. He liked being called V, it made him feel cool, like he was an undercover spy ready to take down Mr. Meanguy's corrupt corporation.

"'Kay, Rap Monster," Taehyung teased as he swung his legs off the table. Namjoon sent him an annoyed look before ruining it with a smile.

Jimin muffled his laugh as he hopped off, "So, who's the intruder?" He asked, slipping his backpack off.

Namjoon shrugged, "I don't know, but he claims to know Hoseok. Feel free to ogle him, Suga hyung's guarding him in the living room."

Jimin nodded along, "M'kay. C'mon V, Jin, let's go see wonder boy."

Taehyung let Jimin link his arm with his, "Yeah, I wanna see Hoseok's friend and why he was out by himself."

Namjoon rolled his eyes, "You guy's go do that. I'll patrol again since that kid attracted a lot of zombies." He left with an annoyed sigh, "... and I was just going to sleep ..."

When they entered the living room, Jimin's arm slipped out of Taehyung's, his mouth open in surprise, "Jeongguk!?"

The stranger, Jeongguk, had been talking to Yoongi, a gun pointed at his head, before his head quickly snapped in Jimin's direction. Jeongguk's lips parted in surprise, his dark eyes widening slightly.

"Jimin?" His voice came out slightly out of breath and he stood up, starting to walk over to us. And holy shit, this guy was tall. He was probably a bit taller than Taehyung, but he wasn't really sure. His body seemed quite masculine, his muscles visible through his tight black shirt and jeans that hugged his thighs, accentuating them nicely. His face, though handsome, seemed a little young. Maybe he was Taehyung's age?

"Yah, still disrespectful as ever," Jimin scolded, softly punching Jeongguk's chest before giving him a bright smile. Okay, so maybe Jeongguk was younger than he thought.

Jeongguk let out a laugh, and Taehyung felt himself move closer to hear it better. It was a nice, pleasant sound, the huskiness of it making Taehyung shiver slightly.

"You are ...?" Jeongguk suddenly asked him, turning his way. Jeongguk's eyes seemed to soften as he gave Taehyung all his attention.

"Oh, me?" Taehyung pointed at himself, still a little dazed. Jeongguk's lips lifted in a small smile as he nodded. "Ah, I'm-"

"V," Yoongi interrupted. He had lowered his gun, but his face was annoyed, as if he didn't care whether he shot Jeongguk or not. "Sorry, but I'd rather not trust you with our names until I see Hoseok."

Jeongguk gave him a stiff nod before he sat back down.

"Is Hoseok still alive?" Jimin asked, the hope in his voice obvious. Jeongguk was about to answer but Yoongi beat him to the punch.

"This kid says he is. Apparently they were seperated back there, guns ablazing and all that jazz. Tomorrow Jeongguk, Rap Monster, and I are gonna go look for him."

Jeongguk just sat there in silence, his face giving nothing away. The pistol he must have been shooting, a semi-automatic 9mm Caliber, lay on the table, it's clip gone. Yoongi probably had it.

"Can I come?" Jimin gave Yoongi an expectant look. Yoongi just raised an eyebrow, shooting down Jimin's proposition. "Nevermind ..."

"Go back to bed, Jin. Jimin, Jeongguk is now under your watch so if anything happens, you'll be held responsible. V, go take over for Rap Monster, he's been out there long enough," Yoongi ordered. Now that the adrenaline of almost getting run out had worn off, everybody started to get tired once again.

"Sir yessir!" Taehyung cheerily saluted. As he left, he noticed Jeongguk smiling at him and couldn't stop himself from returning one of his own to the younger.

As he patrolled outside, he couldn't stop thinking about the newcomer. Things had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting, Taehyung mused. A lot more. The only thing bothering Taehyung was if Hoseok was still alive or not. He shook his head. Of course he's alive! If Jimin knew him, then he must be resourceful. But still ...

He couldn't be dead ... could he?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, more Yooni and Kookie romantic interest. I seem to be leaning more to Kookie but nooooooo, vkook already has so many fics, why not vmin or taegi!!!! Damn ur attractiveness Kookie. Damn it all

Taehyung hated mornings. Well, not really, he just hated getting up. Usually he'd stay in as long as he could but his eomma just wasn't letting him.

"Aren't you gonna see them off, V?" His eomma kept pulling the blankets away but Taehyung was not about to let them go. And why the hell was she calling him V?

"Why bother, eomma?" Taehyung mumbled. "You already know appa's gonna get piss drunk and cheat on you again." Taehyung felt her stop pulling. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, suspicious that his eomma didn't smack him upside the head for his rude comment.

"... I was talking about Suga and them, V," came a soft, definitely male voice. Taehyung's eyes widened as he recognized Jimin, _not_  his eomma, kneeling on the edge of his bed, a concerned look on his face.

"Oh ..." Taehyung trailed off. He rubbed the back of his neck, giving his friend an embarrassed smile. "Of course I'll see hyung off! What kind of dongsaeng would I be if I didn't?" He quickly got up and started looking for a proper shirt, internally hoping that Jimin would let his little slip up slide.

He didn't.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jimin's voice was quiet, only interrupted by Taehyung shuffling around, looking for clean(ish) clothes.

Because Taehyung is so open with his feelings, he totally ignored Jimin and took off his shirt to put on a green one he had just picked up from the floor. "Let's go see our hyungs, and Jeongguk, off!"

Jimin called after him, but Taehyung _really_  didn't want to deal with emotional shit right after waking up.

"Hyuuung!" Taehyung yelled as he ran down the stairs, opened the front door, and pretty much threw himself at Yoongi. He had been talking with Namjoon about something that was probably important, but Taehyung didn't care. "Come back safe, my Suga hyung!"

"You-" Yoongi let out an incredulous laugh, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You dumbass, my gun almost went off!"

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Jin hyung and," Taehyung glared at nothing in particular, "Jimin." He pulled back and smiled at a still shocked Yoongi. He turned and pulled Namjoon into a hug as well. "Take care of Suga hyung, Monnie." After a long pause he let out a laugh. "Oh yeah, and Jeongguk. He's part of the family now too, so protect him as if it was me by your side, okay?" Taehyung looked for Jeongguk and when he saw him, the younger's mouth parted in surprise, Taehyung made sure to send him his brightest smile.

Namjoon let out a tired sigh. The smile on his face betrayed how he was actually feeling and he couldn't help but ruffle Taehyung's hair affectionately. "No prob, V. Make sure to cook something really good for us when we come back."

Taehyung rapidly nodded and let go of him so he could back up and see all of them. Yoongi had recovered and was running his hand through his hair. Taehyung also noticed that Jeongguk had his pistol back, but still no clip yet. Namjoon walked away and started to climb the table somebody must have set up in the corner.

"Make sure to bang your bat as loud as you can on the car so they don't come after us for a bit," Yoongi directed at Jimin who had just come out with Taehyung's bat in hand. Jeongguk was next to climb up the table, Namjoon helping him settle on the fence wall. Yoongi glanced at us and twisted the bracelet around his wrist a couple times. "We'll be back, dusk the latest. If we're not here by then, don't try to find us. Go out if you need supplies, but always come back here if possible. If we're not back in a week then assume we're dead."

Taehyung nodded slowly. As he watched Yoongi go, he silently wished him luck. He really hoped their mission would go smoothly.

"Okay hyung, whenever you're ready," Jimin called out when Yoongi had situated himself on the fence wall with the others. Yoongi looked around and when the coast was clear, he made a fist. Jimin sent him a sharp nod before he started bringing his bat down on the car. The sound drove the zombies crazy. They kept throwing themselves at the gate and pressed their faces into it as if they could squeeze through. Taehyung felt bile rise up but he forced himself to keep it down.

Yoongi kept glancing back and forth, making sure it was safe to go down. He made a two finger gesture and he and Namjoon jumped. Jeongguk hadn't been paying attention but immediately followed after the two.

"Gone, forever dead," Taehyung sobbed out, his hand outstretched at where his babies had disappeared. He saw Jimin roll his eyes, throwing the bat in his direction. Now, Taehyung didn't have the fastest reflexes of the group, so he was a little late to turn and reach for the bat. He just knew he could have caught it if only he'd been given a couple more seconds but-

He didn't catch it.

"Fuuuuu-" Taehyung fell on the grass and started rolling around, his hand clenched close to his chest. "My pinkie!" He heard Jimin walk over to him, apologies spilling from his mouth. Seokjin had even come out at the commotion, worried that zombies had entered. "Backstabber!" Taehyung yelled at Jimin, biting his bottom lip hard. "Betrayer! Sadist!"

"What- I thought you were getting eaten alive, Taehyung!" Seokjin scolded him as he loomed over his body, Jimin peeking out from behind him. 

"Get that heathen away from me," Taehyung hissed. He started to whisper to his poor victimized pinkie, kissing it every couple seconds.

Seokjin let out an exasperated sigh. "You children, I swear." He forced Taehyung to stand up and brushed the grass that had stuck onto the younger's clothes. "And look, you dirtied your clothes even more!"

Taehyung pointedly ignored Jimin and his apologies, deciding to pass his time by talking to the dust on the cracked tv in the living room.

"Yes, Jeongguk is new," he whispered, every once in a while glancing back to see if Jimin or Seokjin were eavesdropping. "But no, he doesn't seem bad. Hoseok will also be coming, but I've never seen him before, or even know what he's like, so I don't know what's gonna happen when he comes."

The dust got bored of him after a while so Taehyung went and bothered Seokjin. The older was busy cleaning vegetables for the soup he was gonna make later.

"The cucumber doesn't like getting washed like that," Taehyung whispered dramatically into Seokjin's ear. Seokjin just gave him a look and Taehyung quickly backed off. He walked around for a bit before deciding to look for Jimin.

"He's out patrolling," Seokjin called after Taehyung, who had begun to look under the couch.

"Thanks hyung!"

When Taehyung went outside, he noticed that the sun was a lot lower. He must've spent more time talking to the dust than he thought he had. He looked around and spotted Jimin throwing rocks and grass at the few zombies that were still leaning on the gate.

"Any sign of them?" Taehyung called out, causing the zombies to perk up and hit the gate that much harder.

Jimin glanced his way before shaking his head. "Nope."

They stood there in silence, watching the zombies drool and bump into each other. Bored, Taehyung sat down in the grass, starting to pull it out and gather it in his hand. Jimin sat next to him, laying his head on Taehyung's shoulder. They stayed like that for about an hour, Taehyung occasionally sprinkling grass on his friend's head only to get pinched in retaliation.

Suddenly, the zombies started moving, but away from the gate. Taehyung watched them, curious as to where they were headed. He nudged Jimin away and walked to the car.

"What is it, Tae?" Jimin yawned, his voice coming out tired.

"Shh, I'm listening," and Jimin fell silent, his face going from tired to alert. No matter how frivolous they thought Taehyung was, they learned that whenever he heard, or thought he heard something, it was never a good sign. Jimin stood next to Taehyung, also watching the zombies make their way down the street. After a couple seconds, Taehyung was finally rewarded with a faint noise. As the minutes dragged on, Jimin leaning forward on the car get a better look outside, they heard shouting and two gunshots.

"Help me with the table," Jimin said, his face serious. Taehyung nodded and helped his friend push the wooden table to the far wall. "Tae, I'm gonna look over and see if it's Yoongi hyung and them. If I give you the signal, start hitting the car with your bat. Got it?"

Taehyung nodded and took his bat from Jimin. He walked over to the car, resting the bat on the dented hood. Jimin climbed up the table and peeked over. Taehyung heard three more gunshots, each sounding closer than the previous. 

Jimin's head kept moving from side to side before he finally made a fist and pulled himself onto the fence wall. Taehyung let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding before raising the bat and bringing it down, _hard_. Thirty seconds into it and zombies started to appear and push against the gate. One minute passed, two, five, and still no one stopped Taehyung.

Yoongi and the others still weren't in.

At seven minutes, Taehyung's arms started to hurt. But he didn't stop, knowing that Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jeongguk's lives could depend on him. So, hoping that the others were getting over safely, he continued to bash the car.

Ten minutes in was when he felt somebody place their hand on his shoulder. Taehyung stopped, groaning in relief as he threw the bat down to rub his sore arms. He opened his eyes and saw so many zombies, just pushing against the gate. It creaked and creaked, and Taehyung was worried that they were really gonna break through.

"Good job, squirt," Yoongi clapped a hand on Taehyung's back and pulled him in for a half-hug.

Taehyung looked around, but nobody was outside except for them. "Did you guys find Hoseok?"

Yoongi nodded as he brought up a hand to ruffle his hair. "We did find him. He should be in the living room with the others." He paused, a grimace overtaking his features. "But Namjoon got shot in the leg."

Taehyung couldn't help the gasp that came out of his lips. "Wha- Who shot him!?" Taehyung felt anger build up inside of him. How dare somebody shoot his friend! Who ever this person was, Taehyung was gonna make sure they would get what they did to Namjoon back, only ten hundred thousand million times worse and maybe die in the process. Who knows what could happen.

"Calm down," Yoongi sighed. He put a hand on Taehyung's head and looked up at the sky, a defeated look on his face. "He's fine. We managed to stop the bleeding with a piece of his shirt. The bullet went all the way through, so we don't have to cut him open, thankfully."

Taehyung shook Yoongi's hand off his head, his face getting increasingly more impassive. "Hyung, who shot Namjoon hyung?"

Yoongi didn't look at him for a while, his face still facing the sky. "Somebody from Exo shot him. We didn't know when we had run into their territory and they just started shooting us up. We're lucky only Namjoon got shot."

Taehyung stood there in silence. Yoongi watched him and tried to read the younger, but for once, he couldn't. And it scared him. Taehyung started to leave but Yoongi grabbed his arm.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Yoongi tried to look at Taehyung's eyes, but the others bangs were in the way. "I won't, dont worry hyung." He looked up and gave Yoingi a bright smile. Taehyung shook his arm loose and ran toward the house, screaming something about how Seokjin better have cooked his favorite potato soup.

And Yoongi let him.

Yoongi had let him go, even though he knew the boy was plotting something. Knew by how fake the smile Taehyung had given him earlier. Yoongi twisted the bracelet on his wrist once, twice. He bit his lip, giving a glance back at the zombies, the creaking hinge of the gate.

They were gonna have to leave, and soon.

-

"You guys shot some of them though, right?" Taehyung asked Hoseok.

Jung Hoseok, a friend of Yoongi and Namjoon. Apparently they had rapped together in the past. Namjoon mentioned that he still had a mix tape they had made a while back in a box in his house. Hoseok even informed Taehyung that his pseudonym in the rap underworld was, 'J-Hope'. Taehyung was happy to tell him that that was the best nickname he had ever heard of. Hoseok smiled, not bothering to correct the younger.

"Tch, what, you don't think I could take down a couple of," he air quoted. "Exo douchebags?" He let out a laugh before bringing Taehyung down for a noogie. "I did. Even heard one of 'em yell that he got shot."

Instantly, Taehyung had known that he was going to like Hoseok. His friendly, easygoing smile making him that much more huggable. Which he was doing right now, actually.

"You're gonna suffocate him Tae," Jimin scowled. He made sure to land a kick on his friend's exposed behind, not liking how the other had taken all the attention so quickly.

"Yah!" Taehyung yelled. He let go of Hoseok and tackled Jimin to the floor. "You have been getting too cocky, you bastard!" They rolled around, bumping into the couch, people's legs, and what felt like a shoe.

Jimin rolled Taehyung around and pressed his face into the rug roughly. He was sitting on Taehyung's back and leaned down to whisper into his ear. "You really thought you could take me, Tae? These muscles aren't just for show you know."

Taehyung turned his head back, his nose just inches from Jimin's. The shit eating grin on his friend's face pissed Taehyung off to no end. "Go fuck yourself."

Jimin's grin grew that much wider. "Ah, if only that was possible." He laughed, placed a kiss on the tip of Taehyung's nose, and got up to sit by Hoseok. Taehyung just lay defeated on the carpet for a while until he realized that there was probably zombie germs on it, so he got up and sat by Seokjin.

Seokjin was fussing over Namjoon ever since they had gotten back. He had made sure that Namjoon had taken some painkillers and antibiotics before feeding him.

"Where's my soup, hyung?" Taehyung whined. He looked at Namjoon and felt the anger swell up again. He closed his eyes and thought how funny it would be if Jimin just peed his pants. It worked,  and Taehyung opened his eyes.

Seokjin didn't even look at him, still feeding Namjoon the soup he had made. "Jeongguk has your bowl, go ask him. Stop moving Namjoon! You don't need to watch everybody every second of the day!"

Taehyung nodded, not really paying attention to anything after hearing 'Jeongguk'. He got up and, no, Jeongguk was not in the living room. Taehyung peeked inside the kitchen and yup, he was eating his own soup, Taehyung's bowl right next to his.

"Namjoon's fine, right?" Jeongguk's voice surprised Taehyung. He didn't think Jeongguk had seen him.

"Just peachy. Probably won't be able to walk for a few weeks though," Taehyung answered. He walked over to Jeongguk and started to spoon his soup. Besides Taehyung's slurping, it had gone silent. Their shoulders brushed occasionally, but Taehyung didn't really notice, too invested in his delicious soup. "Doesn't Seokjin hyung make the best food ever?" He groaned out after finishing the bowl.

Jeongguk let out a little laugh. It sounded forced, and that was when Taehyung noticed that Jeongguk's bowl was still quite full. "Are you not hungry, Jeonggukkie?"

Jeongguk's spoon dropped. The younger sighed and rubbed his neck. "Not really. You want it?"

Taehyung was about to say yes, but something nagged at him. "Yeah, but you should really eat it, Kookie. You'll need your strength for tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and so forth."

Jeongguk stared at Taehyung, a small smile blooming on his face. "I'll eat it, but only if you feed it to me."

And Taehyung, with no hesitation, nodded, already reaching for Jeongguk's spoon. "No problemo. See, I'm helpful _and_  bilingual!" He sent Jeongguk a wink, and the younger let out a real laugh. "Say ah, Kookie."

Taehyung couldn't help feeling pleased when Jeongguk complied with the older's request. "Ahhhh."

After Taehyung gave Jeongguk the last couple of spoonfuls of soup, he leaned in and patted his head. "You're so adorable, Kookie." Taehyung gave him one last smile before he turned around to go find and bother Yoongi.

He hadn't even made it a few steps before he was pulled back, Jeongguk's strong arms wrapping around his waist, and his chin propping itself on Taehyung's shoulder. Taehyung felt his pulse speed up, but he distracted himself with thoughts of kittens, which was a bad idea because, "You're a kitten, Jeonggukkie." And no, he doesn't have a brain to mouth filter sometimes but hey, what's a guy to do?

Jeongguk let out a surprised laugh at Taehyung's sudden comment. "If I'm a kitten, then you're a puppy." He started to hum, squeezing Taehyung one last time before letting go of him.

Taehyung suddenly felt cold and he didn't like it, not one bit.

"Thanks hyung," Jeongguk mumbled shyly. And Taehyung didn't know what the other had thanked him for, but he nodded his head anyways. Taehyung walked out, and Jeongguk was about to follow but somebody grabbed him as he entered the living room.

It was Yoongi, and he looked _pissed_. "Look, I'm usually not one to butt in, but I really don't think you should touch Taehyung so carelessly like that. He might take it the wrong way."

And Jeongguk now understood. He now realized why the shorter always bullied Taehyung. "And what if I want Taehyung to take it the wrong way? What are you gonna do about it?" Jeongguk couldn't help but smirk down at him.

And, surprisingly, Yoongi didn't look like he wanted to murder him. He still looked pissed, but that was about it. "Fucking hate brats like you," Jeongguk heard him mumble. "I ain't gonna do shit, okay? At least, nothing to you. Taehyung on the other hand, I guess I'm gonna have to show him just how good I am in bed."

Now it was Yoongi smirking up at the younger. Not waiting for a response, he turned away from Jeongguk, giving him a little wave as he left.

Jeongguk scoffed, still a little shocked at Yoongi's response. He shook his head, clearing his mind. Well, he mused, two can play that game.

And Jeon Jeongguk wasn't one to give up on something he set his sights on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck it, this is now vkook. I'll make a taegi/vmin fic later, maybe

Taehyung stiffled a yawn. Geez, being on patrol was so boring. He waved his bat a couple times before he started to walk around the house again. His shift was almost over and Taehyung couldn't wait to go back to sleep.

He paused by the gate. The creaking was still there, even though most of the zombies had dispersed.

"You can hold out a little longer, right buddy?" Taehyung whispered to the gate, patting it once before quickly pulling back when a zombie reached out for him. "Don't touch me," he flipped the zombie off before walking away.

Taehyung circled the house three more times before Jeongguk came out of the front door, rubbing his eyes. "Jimin and Yoongi said I had to take over, so here I am."

Jeongguk held out his hand for Taehyung's bat and the other passed it along. He patted Jeongguk before shuffling into the house. When he reached his room, he saw Jimin sprawled on his bed, some drool dribbling out onto his pillow.

"Disgusting," he felt his nose scrunch up. Taehyung went and pushed Jimin to one side, flipped the pillow because he definitely did not want to feel that against his cheek, and layed down. He felt relieved, happy to lay down after standing for hours. Jimin ruined it though, his voice mumbling nonsense. "Don't you have your own bed, Jimin?"

"Hoseok hyung ..." he trailed off, rubbing his face against Taehyung's back. Taehyung rolled his eyes and just accepted his fate. Well, it's not like this was the first time they've shared a bed together.

-

"Why are we packing again, Yoongi hyung?" Taehyung heard Jimin ask.

Taehyung had been sleeping rather peacefully, Jimin's warmth welcome after the blankets were lost to the floor, when Yoongi had come into their (Taehyung's) room and pushed them off the bed. Of course they were complaining, especially Taehyung since it looked like only a couple hours had passed since his shift. Yoongi hadn't cared, just told them to shut up and start packing everything up.

Even though nobody was sure why Yoongi had told them to start packing, everyone knew what it implied. Now all they needed was confirmation from Yoongi himself.

"I hate to say it, but we gotta leave." And yeah, that confirmed what Taehyung already knew. "I know it isn't a good time, with Namjoon being unable to walk and all, but that gate's about to break any second, and I don't wanna be trapped here when the zombies start pouring in." Yoongi didn't mention that Exo was probably looking for them, trying to get revenge for their fallen members, whether they were wounded or dead.

Jimin nodded, a glum look overtaking his features. Seokjin rubbed his back, but that didn't really seem to change his mood.

The rest of the packing was done in silence.

One by one, everybody started trailing out of the house until Taehyung was the only one left. He stopped in the doorway, looking back inside for the last time. His heart felt sad, and Taehyung didn't like the suffocating feeling. He pressed two fingers against his lips and pressed them against the door.

"Goodbye," he whispered, "I'll come visit you, yeah?" And Taehyung left, going to the backyard where Jimin clapped a hand on his back comfortingly. Everybody had at least one backpack, knapsack, or some makeshift bag on their backs, Seokjin even adorning a fanny pack.

"Hoseok is gonna bang the bat on the car this time while Taehyung and Jimin, you two switch between carrying Namjoon," Yoongi started to explain. His face was serious and tense. He really didn't want to lose anybody, but yet at the same time he knew that they weren't any safer here.

Taehyung and Jimin nodded while Hoseok gave a thumbs up.

"Hoseok, once you see that a lot of zombies have gathered, immediately run back and join us. Jeongguk, you're gonna protect us from behind while I got the front. Seokjin hyung, I know you don't like fighting but I need you to try, okay? When Hoseok comes back, you two will protect the the sides."

Everybody nodded, and when Hoseok went back, Taehyung heard him start to hit the car. Quickly, everybody got up on the wall, Namjoon's injury slowing him down a bit. Taehyung looked down and saw no zombies nearby. Without waiting for Yoongi's permission, he slid down the wall, trying to soften his landing. Damn that fence wall is tall!

Yoongi followed after him, smacking his head. "You wait until I say it's safe, got it?" He aggressively whispered in Taehyung's ear. Taehyung nodded, if only to pacify the older.

The banging stopped, so now it was only a matter of time to bring Namjoon, and the others by themselves, down.

Taehyung stood by the wall, sticking his thigh out. Seokjin lowered Namjoon, and he propped his good leg on Taehyung's outstretched leg. Both his hand gripped Taehyung's shoulder before he finally hopped down to safety. The others got down relatively faster, Yoongi putting everybody into their proper positions.

Yoongi pulled Jeongguk aside as everybody else got into place. "Look, I'm running out of ammunition, and I'm sure your running low too, so make sure you take Taehyung or Jimin's bat just in case." The younger nodded, already walking to Taehyung and Jimin.

Yoongi looked around them, making sure the perimeter was clear. "C'mon guys, let's get going."

They set off, and while there were no zombies up and about in the street, Taehyung knew they were probably all clumped together in buildings. They're progress was slow, Namjoon limping as fast as he could while Hoseok and Jimin took take care of straggling zombies. At first, Taehyung thought Hoseok's decision to use a lamp as a weapon was ridiculous, but after he had pulled out the wires and took off the lampshade, it wasn't half bad. It certainly did its job, leaving dead zombies in its wake.

The only problem now was that Yoongi didn't seem to find somewhere they could properly hide in. Either the shop or house was too big, and had too many entrances, or it was too small, with no possible way to exit fast enough if zombies were to crash in.

Taehyung felt as if he had stood in the sun for hours, standing by with Namjoon while Yoongi and Hoseok checked building after building, house after house, store after motherfucking store. It was exhausting, and boring, and Taehyung just wanted to sit and drink some water but no, they needed to keep moving, and while Taehyung understood that, what he didn't understand was why Yoongi had to say no to every possible new hideout.

Even worse now was that the sun was starting to set, and everybody knew that when it got darker, the zombies got faster and grew more aggressive. Not really a good position to be in when you're transporting the injured. While they've run into a few zombies, most of them not really loitering in the open road but still quite a few, Taehyung knew that it would get worse as they sky darkened.

"Hyung, we really need to find somewhere safe to camp out," Taehyung murmured. He kept furtively glancing back at Jimin, who was currently supporting Namjoon.

"I know, but we're not there yet," Yoongi muttered through gritted teeth. They were no where near where he wanted them to be, Yoongi thought. "Okay, fuck, we're gonna have to camp at the next suitable place we find."

A groan suddenly sounded out a couple feet in front of them. Yoongi swore, looking back and forth. "Jimin, Namjoon, Seokjin, and Taehyung. You see that ugly ass house right there?" He pointed at a small, one story house, the white paint on it chipping off. The yard was pretty open, and there seemed to be two zombies just standing in front of one of the windows. "Go and clear it out 'cause that's where we'll be staying the night. Hoseok, you take care of those two fuckers by the windows with Jimin's bat. Jeongguk, help them clear the house. I'll take care of this straggler. Seokjin, give me the spare weapon I told you to pack."

Seokjin nodded and pulled out a fucking mace from Namjoon's backpack. A real, mideval spiked mace. Taehyung stood there, slack jawed because Seokjin, his hyung, and fucking Yoongi, hid a motherfucking cool ass mace from him! Did they not know what totally badass things Taehyung could have done if he had a mace? Apparently they didn't because there was no mace in his hands and maybe Taehyung shouldn't be this distracted but they had a _mace_ and-

"I said move, Tae!" Jimin hissed at him as he readjusted Namjoon's arms on his shoulders.

Taehyung snapped out of his momentary daze and twirled the bat in his hand. "Yup, you did say that. Sorry Chimchim. Kinda got lost in the abyss, ya know?"

Jimin muttered how he didn't know as Taehyung went up to open the front door of the shabby house Yoongi had decided they would sleep in. Jeongguk joined his side, Jimin's spiky bat in hand. The door, unsurprisingly, was already partly open. Damn looters must've taken all the valuables. Taehyung pushed the door open, his bat already ready to smack some zombie ass. Or head.

When nothing tried to attack them, Taehyung and Jeongguk walked in further into what seemed like the living room. Cautiously, Taehyung peered around a corner to look into what he assumed was the kitchen and no, nothing was there either. He heard a slam and scrambled to the noise. He walked into the dingy bathroom and was met by Jeongguk repeatedly hitting a female(ish) zombie on the head. Taehyung was pretty sure it was dead already, but Jeongguk didn't stop hitting it.

"Yah, I'm pretty sure that titan's dead, Eren," Taehyung half heartedly teased. To be honest, it was quite disturbing to see Jeongguk, the boy (more like young adult) who had sent him the sweetest smile that morning, just relentlessly pummeling a dead body with his bat over and over. It was pretty brutal.

Jeongguk finally stopped when Taehyung softly pressed his hand against the others back. "You okay?" Taehyung whispered, pressing his cheek next to his hand on Jeongguk's back.

Taehyung felt Jeongguk's body shake slightly. "Yeah. Thanks hyung."

"House is cleared," Taehyung's voice came out a lot firmer than he thought it would. Jimin nodded and hauled Namjoon inside. Now that Taehyung knew no zombies would pop out, he took a closer look at what the house really looked like.

There was a couch, it's cushions ripped and a remote stuffed inside the crack of it. The small TV they found had its screen completely shattered. Seokjin was already brushing the pieces to the side with his foot. The floor was relatively clean, no blood stains visible until it merged with the kitchen. Taehyung tested the sink to see if water would come out. It didn't. Next he tried the lights, but got the same results as with the water.

Yoongi came in the house and quietly closed the door. He turned the lock, pulling it to see if it worked. Luckily it did. Still, he wanted more protection. "Somebody find a chair that I can prop up against the door."

Seokjin nodded and left in search for a non broken chair. Jimin layed Namjoon down on the ragged couch, collapsing down next to him. Jeongguk sat on the floor, leaning his head against the couch, obviously tired. Taehyung wasn't even sure Jeongguk had enough sleep, the poor kid.

Seokjin returned with an intact chair, handing it off to Yoongi. After making sure he properly propped it up, he walked over to the couch since everyone was huddled up there. It was the beginning of fall, so it got a bit chilly at night and Jimin hadn't taken the blankets out of his bag yet.

"Seokjin, could you pass the water around?" Yoongi grumbled out as he paced back and forth. He took off his knapsack and pulled out three solar powered flashlights. "I'll patrol first, you guys get some sleep." He handed Seokjin and Hoseok the other flashlights before flipping his light on and going into the kitchen.

"Here," Seokjin's voice silently carried through the room as he gave Jimin the water bottle first. They only had five water bottles left, two of them already gone. When Taehyung got the water he made sure to take just enough, and not too much. Seokjin then passed out chocolate, and while Taehyung would have been happy, he just felt tired and sad again.

"Goodnight," Jimin whispered after he had finished passing out the blankets. Taehyung only nodded, letting his head rest on his backpack. Although laying on the floor was uncomfortable, he somehow managed to not care because _sleep_.

After what felt like only a couple of seconds, somebody started roughly shaking him and he heard words. Really loud words that sounded a lot like Yoongi's voice.

"Fucking wake up Taehyung, wake up!"

Taehyung forced his eyes open and yeah, Yoongi looked really mad, but also really worried. Suddenly Taehyung realized that everybody else was already up and about, backpacks on and weapons out. He glanced down and noticed that his blanket was gone. No wonder he was cold.

"What's going on, hyung?" Taehyung mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Some sunlight was streaming in, just managing to brighten up the room a bit.

"We heard gunshots, Tae," Jimin hurriedly explained when Yoongi left to get everybody else prepared.

Taehyung's eyes widened as he immediately jumped to his feet. "Then shouldn't we stay here? What if they catch us trying to escape?"

Jimin winced. "It doesn't matter, Tae. They already know we're here. Some ... some guy pounded on the door earlier telling us to get out or he and his friends were gonna shoot us up ..."

"Keep your weapons close, but don't shoot yet," Yoongi quietly murmered in the background. "We need to know what these fuckers want before we do anything drastic, okay? If I give the sign, then you guys can start spitting bullets at them. Tae, get Namjoon. Hoseok, up by me."

Even though Taehyung nodded, he didn't even notice he was moving or that Yoongi had pulled the chair away from the door and was about to open it. Everything seemed so surreal, and Taehyung wasn't sure he was ready to face reality yet.

"What do you want?" Yoongi said as calmly as he could. He had opened the door, but told the others, excluding Hoseok, to stay back. He examined who he assumed to be the leader. The guy looked about his age and had short black hair. He was definitely taller than Yoongi, and he was dressed in a loose black sweater and black ripped jeans. Yoongi mentally scoffed. Who wore ripped jeans for Christs' sake? Yoongi then eyed the M27 in his hands and wondered if he would be killed by it.

"You in Exo?" The stranger asked. His voice was strong, easily carrying through the air. Though he wasn't pointing his gun at them, the others were. Five people, including their leader, were threatening to shoot them right now if they felt like it. Yoongi wondered if there were more people in hiding. He shook his head. Better play it safe and just answer their questions.

"Ha," Yoongi let out a bland laugh. "Not at all. They shot one of my guys so no, we aren't in Exo or even their allies or some shit."

"How many of you are there?"

Yoongi glanced at Hoseok who just gave him a shrug. How useful. "There's seven of us, one wounded."

They guy's eyes narrowed. A guy with white dyed hair pulled next up next to him and whispered something into his ear. Their leader nodded and stepped back. "Tell them to come out."

Yoongi gritted his teeth. "I'd rather not."

At that the guy raised an eyebrow. "You are their leader, right ...?" He trailed off.

"It's Suga," the white haired guy suddenly gave him an intense look. "And yeah, I am, but I'd rather not risk their lives until we come to an agreement of some kind."

Once again, the white haired guy said something to his leader. "My friend here wants to know something."

Yoongi scoffed. "Well then, why don't I pour some fucking tea and we can chat to our heart's content?" Some zombies were already starting to gather, the leader's bunch of followers shooting them from afar. Damn, they all have guns. Escape for the others was becoming less and less likely.

The guy did not look amused by Yoongi's response. "If you could shut up, that'd be great. Anyways, my friend wants to know if you know a Kim Namjoon?"

Yoongi felt surprised and quickly controlled his expression into something neutral. "And what if I do?"

White hair stepped closer to Yoongi and Hoseok, ignoring his leader's warning of staying back. "Is he still alive?" He called out. His voice was pretty loud and rough. For some reason, Yoongi thought he kind of reminded him of Taehyung.

"Jackson?" Namjoon suddenly called out from behind him. Yoongi quickly turned around and saw Taehyung and Namjoon standing there in the doorway.

"You know him, hyung?" Taehyung asked.

Namjoon nodded absently. "Yeah, we're childhood friends."

Taehyung noticed that white hair guy, or Jackson, had started to walk over to them. A smile was on his face, but when he noticed Namjoon's condition it faded away. "What the hell happened to your foot?"

Namjoon let out a dry laugh. "Exo, that's who. We were out saving Hoseok's sorry ass when we accidentally ran into them."

Hoseok let out an indignant noise as he pinched Namjoon's cheek. Namjoon laughed, pushing the offending hand away. "Who's your crew?"

Jackson cracked a smile at that. "We don't got a fancy name like Exo, but we're with a bigger group. They call themselves JYP. We help them sometimes and they return the favor. You know the guy Suga was talking to? That's Jaebum. The guy next to him is Jinyoung, blondie over there's Yugyeom, and the guy currently shooting a zombie is Youngjae."

Namjoon nodded along as his friend talked, and that was when Yoongi decided to cut in. "Hey, this reunion is great and all, but we really gotta get moving."

Jackson gave Yoongi a look. He turned back to Jaebum and did a couple of hand signals. Taehyung saw Jaebum let out a sigh before nodding at whatever Jackson asked him. "Hey, we got a pretty safe place a couple blocks away from here, why don't you crash there for a while?"

"Can we!?" Taehyung whispered, excited at the prospect of meeting new people and a safe place to sleep.

Yoongi sent Taehyung a glare, promptly rubbing his eyes in agitation seconds later. "Namjoon, it's your call I guess. Can we trust this guy and his gang back there?"

"Actually," Jackson interrupted. "Jaebum's our gang leader. I'm just that guy who gets criticized a lot for talking too much. At least, that's what Youngjae says."

Yoongi and Namjoon ignored his comment. Taehyung, on the other hand, was paying rapt attention to Jackson, his white hair also providing another distraction for Taehyung to look at. He hadn't seen dyed hair in a while.

"I trust him. He's really obnoxious and doesn't really know when to stop talking, but he's a loyal friend who I've counted on many times before all this went down." Namjoon waved his hand around, emphasizing on the word 'this'.

Yoongi let out a loud sigh. He glanced back at Jaebum and the others who were shooting more zombies, and decided that while he still didn't trust them, he had to get his friends (and Jeongguk) to safety. He glanced at Taehyung, not really shocked that the other was giving him a hopeful expression.

Well fuck it.

"Get the other's," Yoongi muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Look's like we're going with these guys for the time being."

Taehyung couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. Finally, Namjoon could rest somewhere safe and properly heal. Jimin and Taehyung would be able to mess around again without zombies interrupting them. And if Jaebum let them, Seokjin might be able to cook them something yummy to eat.

And maybe, Taehyung thought. Maybe things were starting to become slightly better. Progress was slow, but better nonetheless.

And that, Taehyung thought before Jimin pulled his ear, was just fine with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going for some backstory and character development but idk how thats going, whoop dee doo
> 
> This chapter was made while listening to Just Right. Not rly matching the concept but i liked it so yaaay?

"It's so big," Taehyung gasped when Jackson and his group's base came in sight. The building appearing in front of him was fancy looking, with a log two-story building. The gate surrounding it slightly blocked the view, but just barely. Two tall trees were framing the gate's car entrance.

"That's what she said," Jeongguk snickered. Taehyung softly punched the younger's shoulder, not really managing to stop his laugh in time.

"You dirty old man," Jimin commented from behind them. Taehyung looked back to see him shaking his head slightly, an amused smile on his face. Seokjin looked scandalized that Jeongguk would say something so inappropriate.

"Isn't this the private gym for rich bastards?" Yoongi asked Jackson. Besides Jackson, nobody else was really talking to them. Yugyeom and Jinyoung who were bringing up the rear of the pack sometimes nodded at Taehyung when their eye's met, but otherwise they kept quiet, occasionally whispering to each other. Jaebum and Youngjae were leading them, and Taehyung felt safe for the first time in a while.

"Pretty much," Jackson shrugged. "It's more like a country club, or hotel though. As you can see," he pointed around. "This place is fenced in and they've got a gate that keeps most zombies, and cars, out."

Yoongi raised a brow at that. "Most?"

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, as you can see, this car gate isn't exactly touching the ground. Most zombies just stand against it, but others are smarter and they crawl underneath it."

"And you guys just, what?" Yoongi let out an outrageous laugh. "Put nothing there to block it?"

"I was getting to that," Jackson spat out. Seems like Yoongi was getting on his nerves. 

Taehyung walked to Yoongi's side and hugged his arm tightly. Yoongi glanced at him, but otherwise didn't stop him.

"We usually block it with a table and park a golf cart behind it," as Jackson kept on explaining their defense, Taehyung watched as Jaebum and Youngjae crawled under the car gate. Looking around, he did see two long wooden tables, as well as two golf carts. The tables had probably been nice and polished before, but now they just had lots of dried blood, scratchmarks, and some teeth indents on them.

"How're we gonna get Namjoon through?" Taehyung suddenly said.

Everybody looked at him, then at Namjoon.

"You can crawl ... right?" Jackson trailed off, pointedly looking at Namjoon's foot.

Namjoon rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can. It's not like my arms are broken. Besides, you guys can pull me in if I'm having trouble getting through."

Taehyung flinched when he heard a couple of shots ring out in the country club. Jimin let out a surprised shout while Yoongi started to scan the area for any immediate danger.

"'S fine," Jackson waved off their concerns. "Jaebum and Youngjae probably got some stragglers inside."

"I feel safer already," Yoongi deadpanned.

Taehyung insisted that he go under first because of reasons. The others didn't really care, as long as they eventually got in.

"Pass me my bat!" He whined once he successfully made it to the other side. Looking around, he saw a real golf course a ways off. Taehyung has always wanted to try golf before. Jimin rolled the bat and when Taehyung grabbed it, he decided to explore.

"Taehyung, where the fuck are you going?" He heard Yoongi yell.

"I'll be right back, don't worry hyung," he yelled back. Taehyung was pretty sure Yoongi was saying something, but his voice got fainter and fainter the further he went. "Pretty," he murmured, spotting a butterfly. He reached his hand out so it could land on it, but it just fluttered away.

"Aw, come back!" He pouted, quickly following the insect. Taehyung ran after it for a bit before jumping over a bush and found himself surrounded by flowers.

"A garden?" He muttered to himself. And yes, it was. There were flowers planted everywhere, all surrounding a stone path. He looked around before noticing that the butterfly fluttered through a white arch that had flowers growing through it. He couldn't see anything beyond it, as a hedge was made around it. "Come back!"

After going through the arch, the butterfly just seemed to vanish. The hedge circled around a small pond that had big stones planted around it. Taehyung walked closer and cooed at the frogs jumping in the small pond. The water itself was quite murky, and Taehyung didn't really want to fall into it since he was dirty enough.

A small frog jumped on a Lilly pad pretty close to Taehyung, its little stomach swelling as it started to croak. "Cuuute," he laughed. Taehyung kneeled and stretched his hand out to try and get the frog.

Suddenly, a hand broke through the water and grabbed onto Taehyung's arm. "Wha-" Taehyung wasn't even able to finish his sentence before a zombie's head emergerd from the disgusting water. He looked into its eyes and was shocked. This zombie's eyes weren't dull and glazed over. Its iris' were a strinkingly bright red, which he had never seen before. The zombie even seemed to be analyzing Taehyung with it's intelligent eyes.

Taehyung snapped out of his momentary daze and brought his bat up to hit the zombie. As he brought it down, the zombie only lifted its hand and caught it, pulling it from his hands and throwing it aside. It opened its mouth and some weird noise came out. Taehyung fearfully realized that it was laughing. Laughing at him and his failed attempt to save himself.

I'm gonna die, Taehyung thought as he finally understood the situation he was in and he couldn't stop the tears that started to form in his eyes. He should've listened to Yoongi. Stupid, stupid!

The zombie lunged at Taehyung, presumably going for his neck. Taehyung closed his eyes, tears streaming.

"Get the fuck off of him!" He heard Jeongguk's voice growl out and felt the zombie's weight lift off of him. He opened his eyes and saw that Jeongguk had dug his nails into the back of the zombie's neck and fucking pulled it off him with his brute strength. For a moment, Taehyung wondered how Jeongguk was so strong, even managing to effortlessly throw the zombie a couple feet away.

Jeongguk stalked towards the zombie who was starting to get up. It let out a gurgle and Taehyung felt sick. The zombie leaped at him but Jeongguk quickly smashed his bat into the zombie's head like it was a baseball. The zombie cumpled to the floor and just like in the bathroom, Jeongguk continued to smash its head in.

And this time, Taehyung didn't stop him. He watched, and felt more tears stream down his face. He could've died, but Jeongguk saved him. His started to sob, causing Jeongguk to look back at him.

"Hyung," Taehyung heard him call out. Jeongguk sprinted to his side and wrapped his arms around him. Taehyung clenched Jeongguk's shirt and cried harder. He tried to talk, but hiccuped too much for it to actually be understandable.

"Shh," Jeongguk whispered into his hair. "It's okay, just let it out. I'm here for you, just let it out, Tae."

He did continue to cry and cry, slowly giving up to just sniffling and small hiccups. He heard footsteps and looked at the arch. Yoongi and Jimin were standing there, their faces full of worry.

"Taehyung?" Yoongi's voice came out hoarse. He glanced around, noticing the zombie's body and Taehyung's disregarded bat.

Just hearing Yoongi's concerned voice made Taehyung cry all over again. "I-I'm s-sorry for not l-listening to you, h-hyung!" He let out a small hiccup. Taehyung wiped at his eyes and stood up with Jeongguk's help.

Jimin walked up to him while Yoongi stood frozen in place. "What happened?" Jimin gently said, bringing up a hand to wipe at Taehyung's tears.

"A zombie almost killed him," Jeongguk quietly answered. He tightened his grip around Taehyung's waist, as if making sure Taehyung was still there.

"What?" Jimin's horrified voice brought Yoongi out of it, the leader managing to walk over to them.

"It was different," Jeongguk continued. "It's eyes were ... different. It seemed ... smarter and faster then the regular zombies we fight."

"I-It came out of t-the water and g-grabbed me l-like it w-was w-waiting to a-ambush me," Taehyung managed to get out after a few hiccups.

"This why you don't go anywhere alone," Yoongi's cold, disappointed voice was like a slap to the face. All Taehyung could do was nod, his head lowered in shame.

"He almost died, Yoongi hyung," Jeongguk's voice came out angry. "Do you really have to talk to him like that?"

"This wouldn't have happened if he had only listened to me," Yoongi sternly replied, glaring at Jeongguk. "I understand how you feel, but this situation was preventable and Taehyung is at fault."

Taehyung winced. Yoongi was right. If Taehyung had only listened, then none of this would have happened. Why did follow that butterfly? Why did he reach out for that frog?

"I know but-"

"No," Yoongi cut him off, his voice growing louder. "You don't know. It's because you don't know that you're defending him. Do you know how many people I've seen die because they think they can handle anything that this world fucking throws at them? Have you seen your friends get eaten because they thought that they could hold off a couple of zombies by themselves? Did you fucking witness your mother kill your brother because _he thought that he had had it under control!?_ "

Jeongguk stayed silent.

"That's what I fucking thought. If you think that for one second that I don't care, that I don't know what he's going through, then you've got another thing coming because I do understand. I understand because I _was_ him!" Yoongi was practically shouting, his face red from how hard he was yelling. He paused, his chest still heaving from exertion.

It stayed silent, the frogs in the pond only interrupting with their croaks.

Yoongi calmed himself down, twisting his bracelet a couple times. "Listen kid," he continued, his voice calm and steady. "You might've gone through some stuff, and I get it, I really do. But at the same time, some things can be stopped before they even happen." Yoongi cast Taehyung a look. "Taehyung, I want you to reflect on your actions. You are not allowed to go anywhere outside without somebody with you at all times. Jimin, I want you and Seokjin hyung to throw all the chocolate out as well."

Jimin curtly nodded. He briskly walked away, sending a concerned look back at Taehyung.

"Do you understand what I'm asking you to do, Taehyung?"

Taehyung nodded. His tears stopped, but the fear and sadness in his heart never disappeared.

"Good. I'll see you, both of you, later. And Jeongguk," Yoongi rubbed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh. "Don't coddle him. If you want him to die, then go ahead. Unfortunately though, some things need to be learned the hard way."

With that, Yoongi turned to leave. Taehyung watched his back before he turned and disappeared from his sight.

Jeongguk stayed quiet, letting go of Taehyung to get their bats. "Here," he quietly murmered. Taehyung nodded and took his bat.

They slowly walked out, and halfway through, Jeongguk's hand brushed against Taehyung's. Impulsively, Taehyung interlocked his hand with Jeongguk's. Immediately, Taehyung felt safer. He peeked at Jeongguk's face and saw that he had a small smile. Taehyung felt happy, and for a while he reveled in the feeling.

By the time they arrived at the country club (hotel? He wasn't exactly sure), Jeongguk and Taehyung had let go of each other's hands. Taehyung once again felt empty, but he ignored the feeling as he went through the doors of the building.

The entrance would've been impressive if everything wasn't banged up and thrown everywhere. Some things were still in place, like some couches and chairs, but tables were flipped over, potted plants tossed aside with dirt everywhere, and the remnants of a smashed fish tank.

Yugyeom and Jinyoung were talking, but when Taehyung and Jeongguk entered they stopped.

"You guys can choose any room fron the second floor," Jinyoung's voice echoed. "This place has a backup generator, so we have working power and water. If you guys want some new clothes, check the giftshop over there." He pointed at a little shop that was in the corner.

Taehyung nodded and dragged himself up the stairs to get to any room. He hadn't had a shower in weeks, and now that he knew he could take one, he was going to take full advantage of it. After checking a couple of rooms that already had stuff in them, he finally managed to find an empty room. The room was empty of everything except for the bed and the blankets, and the wooden cabinets on the other side. Taehyung dropped his bat and went into the bathroom. Just like the room, it was pretty much empty. No soap or shampoo, no toilet paper, and no towels.

Taehyung didn't care. He stripped down and turned the hot water on. Never did he think that he would miss the sound of the water hitting the floor so much. Taehyung stepped in and flinched at how hot it was. He wasn't gonna change it, though. He needed this.

When he felt clean, Taehyung turned the water off so as not waste it. He looked at his clothes and grimaced. He did not want to put his grimy clothes on after just getting clean. He decided to just put on his underwear and then he'd go downstairs to get new clothes.

Knowing that Jackson and them probably wouldn't want to see him naked, he pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around him. "Wheeee!" Taehyung laughed as he twirled around. He tripped and fell against the bed, little giggles slipping out.

"Clothes," he remembered. "I need clothes."

Taehyung waddled out and down the stairs, making sure that he didn't trip again. Hoseok had seen him from the balcony on the second floor and wouldn't stop laughing and pointing. "Jimin, look at Tae!"

Taehyung scowled at him. "Shut up, hyung. I'm protecting your virgin eyes so you should be grateful."

Hoseok's laugh cut off. "I'm not a virgin!"

"Could've fooled me," Taehyung smirked. He waddled faster when Hoseok said something about going down there and punching him.

The shop had, amazingly, a lot of its merchandise still intact. Most of it was thrown on the floor and strewn about, but they were still useful.

"Shirt, shirt, pants," he mumbled as he picked at the clothes. "Bobble head!" Taehyung bent over to pick it up and someone decided to use that moment to smack his ass. "Yah!"

Taehyung turned around and glared at said person, who turned out to be Jeongguk. The younger had his hands behind his back and a seemingly innocent smile on his face. "Sorry hyung, my hand just slipped."

"You cheeky brat," Taehyung scolded, pushing Jeongguk away. "Jimin was right, you really are a dirty old man." He dramatically sighed as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Shut up," Jeongguk laughed. He grabbed one of Taehyung's hands and dragged him into a hug.

"Yah, I gotta find some clothes," Taehyung mumbled into Jeongguk's chest. The younger just held him tighter.

"What if I don't want you to find any?" Jeongguk said into his hair.

Taehyung felt his face flush. "Well, the others wouldn't wanna see me half naked, so I have to find clothes or they'll do something and say, 'See, Taehyung? That's why you need to always wear clothes.' And I'd tell them, 'But Jeongguk wanted me not to' and then they would say-"

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Jeongguk laughed. Now Taehyung knew his blush wasn't going away any time soon.

Jeongguk let go of him, but not before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Go on, hyung. Find your unnecessary clothes," he teased.

Taehyung stared at him, his eyes wide. He almost lifted a hand to touch his cheek, but stopped halfway. "O-Okay ..."

Jimin had come in while Taehyung had put on his new pants that were just a bit too snug. "Why don't they have pairs in my size?" Taehyung had whined. He had a nice polo shirt that was pretty lose, but the  _pants_.

Jimin whistled as he looked Taehyung up and down. "Wow Tae, you look like a real escort."

Taehyung glared at him. "You are an insufferable tick in my life."

"Hey, I could have called you a prostitute outright," he raised an eyebrow. Jimin looked at Jeongguk and he couldn't help but laugh. "Damn Kookie, you need to close that mouth of yours before drool starts pouring out!"

"Shut up," Jeongguk mumbled. Taehyung looked at his face and was surprised to see it a light pink. Jeongguk looked away when their eyes met, and Taehyung felt a smug smile spread across his lips. Ha! Who's getting flustered now? But wait, doesn't that mean Jeongguk was looking at his ass?

"Woah, your face is so red, Tae," Jimin pressed his palm against Taehyung's cheek. "You're like a heater!"

They heard a knock and glanced up to see Hoseok. "If you losers wanna eat then follow me." Not waiting for an answer, Hoseok started to walk away.

"Wait!" Taehyung yelled as he slipped a pair of flip-flops on. He caught up to Hoseok, Jeongguk and Jimin right behind him, and gripped Hoseok's shirt. "Choo, choo!"

They laughed and Jimin grabbed the back of Taehyung's shirt. "Onto the Hoseok express!"

They continued like that, entering an open space that looked to be the cafeteria. Yoongi and Namjoon were already there, quietly talking. A little ways off, there was Jackson and Yugyeom.

"Where's Seokjin hyung?" Taehyung asked when they reached Yoongi and Namjoon. Taehyung still wasn't ready to look Yoongi in the eye so he just stared at his chin.

"He's making _japchae_ , without beef, in the back," Yoongi answered. He didn't sound mad anymore and for that, Taehyung was grateful.

For a while he listened to Namjoon and Hoseok, who were having a rap battle, but he got distracted by Jackson's loud laugh. It was a weird, high pitched noise that attracted everybody's attention.

"Yah," Namjoon yelled. "Jackson, I can't hear anything but your hyena laugh now!"

Taehyung let out a muffled laugh and noticed that Yugyeom was also laughing at his hyung's expense.

"And you think I like to hear you rap?" Jackson yelled back, a smirk on his face.

"At least I don't sound like a dying animal, punk."

"I beg to differ, ahjussi."

"I am so going to smack you," Namjoon muttered as he flipped Jackson off.

"I think your friendship is cute," Jimin smiled. Taehyung agreed with him while he waved at Jackson. Jackson waved back, and so did Yugyeom.

When Seokjin brought the food out with Jaebum's help, Jackson, Yugyeom, and Jinyoung had moved to their table. Jackson had said that Youngjae was on patrol.

"Where's Mark?" Namjoon asked after swallowing some noodles.

Jackson's smile faltered. "Ah, I don't know ... he went to America to visit his parents, so I don't know how he is ..."

The table grew quiet at that. Taehyung felt his heart hurt for Jackson. It must be horrible to not know how your friends or family members are holding up, or if they're even alive. He felt anger bubble up. Taehyung knew where his bastard of a brother was. He started to glare at his soup. That traitor.

"Tae?" Jimin whispered quietly so only Taehyung could hear. "I can feel your murderous intent. Who's dying tonight?"

Taehyung rolled his eyes, his anger disappearing rather quickly. "You if you don't shut up." He bumped his thigh into Jimin's and snickered when the other spilled some soup.

"Not. Funny." Jimin punctuated. He pinched Taehyung's side, causing the other to yelp in pain. Taehyung of course retaliated, and that started a full on pinch war.

"Kill me now," Taehyung heard Yoongi mutter.

"Aren't they annoying?" Seokjin said affectionately. "They're like the children I never wanted."

"They remind me of annoying younger brothers," Jaebum commented.

Taehyung's knee jerked and he managed to hit the table. He hunched over in pain, a grimace on his face. "Pain is unforgiving," he whispered. He clutched his knee which didn't really hurt now, but he's gone too far with his act and can't back out now.

"You okay?" Jimin asked, his brows furrowed in concern. He was already rubbing Taehyung's back, and Taehyung couldn't help but sigh in content. Wow that felt good.

"Yeah."

"You remind me of ..." Jinyoung suddenly piped up. Taehyung looked up and was confused at how sad he looked.

"Bambam?" Jackson finished. He had a sad smile on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, bet they would've been good friends."

Taehyung, not really reading the mood, decided to open his mouth. "Who's Bambam? I've never-" And oh, of course they wouldn't talk about someone who was dead.

Jimin elbowed him and Taehyung sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Jackson waved him off. "'S fine. Bambam is-" he paused. " _Was_ in our crew, you could say. He was a bright kid, like you. His real name was really long, so we shortened it to Bambam 'cause he thought it was cute. He was  very sheltered and totally freaked out when the apocalypse began. Yugyeom was friends with him and helped him at the time. Yugyeom and I were friends before all of this happened, so when me and Jaebum found them in some abandoned donut shop, we joined forces."

Taehyung was leaned closer, listening intently. He glanced at Jimin and Jeongguk, noticing they were also paying rapt attention to him with serious looks on their face's.

"We lost Bambam when we were looting a mall. We didn't know about Exo then, so we were surprised when they confronted us. Apparently," Jackson spat out, his tone bitter. "We were on their turf. I didn't want any problems so I just said we'd be on our way. We started to leave, but Bambam didn't move. He didn't understand why we had to surrender to them, since nobody really owns the mall. Before we knew it, some tall guy shot him right in the head."

Taehyung saw his fists clench. Jackson shook his head and pushed his soup away. "And as you can see, we made it out. Of course, we weren't able to bury his body, but we made a cross out back to pay our respects to." He stood up and nodded at us. "If you need me, I'll be in my room, first floor, second door to the right."

Taehyung stared at his soup and poked the vegetables with his chopsticks after he watched Jackson go. Yugyeom also got up and left, a pained look on his face.

What a tragic story.

He sighed and stuffed some noodles in his mouth. Of course, every problem led back to Exo. No matter what, Exo always got involved.

"I'm gonna go to sleep," Jimin slowly blinked before standing up. Taehyung got up too and slightly pulled on Jimin's sleeve. Jimin glanced at him, an amused smile appearing when he saw Taehyung's hopeful expression. "Fine, you can sleep with me."

"What?" Jeongguk interrupted, abruptly standing up.

Taehyung jumped in surprise and Jimin brought a hand up to muffle his laugh. "Dude, I would never have sex with Taehyung, ever."

Taehyung let out a dramatic gasp. Jeongguk's face went from accusing to relieved.

"But if he keeps wearing those pants then I can't make any promises ..."

Jeongguk let out an angry huff. Taehyung felt like he was going to punch Jimin any second because seriously? Not that he's into Jimin or anything, but they were totally compatible so for him to reject him like this was a little hurtful. That, or Taehyung's still being overly dramatic.

"Am I only good for a one night stand?" He asked, a pout on his face.

"Sorry babe," Jimin let out an exaggerated sigh as he brushed Taehyung's hair back. "But yeah, you're pretty much my side chick. Actually, not even. Booty call? Nah, that's still too frequent. I guess you are my one night stand. So, we gonna sleep yet, or do you still want more clarification on our relationship?"

"Let's go to sleep," Taehyung pushed Jimin's hand away. "Besides, you weren't even a good lay."

Namjoon and Jeongguk laughed while Jimin stared at Taehyung's retreating figure. "Fuck you, I'm a great lay!" He yelled as he started to catch up with him.

"Are they always like this?" Jaebum looked at Seokjin, who had a fond but exasperated smile on his face.

"You get used to it."

Yoongi snorted. "No you don't."

"Why aren't we like that?" Hoseok asked Yoongi.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. He sipped his water before he replied. "Maybe because I'm not an excitable weirdo who loves sky fish with a passion?"

"Sky fish?" Jinyoung asked, befuddled.

"Birds," Namjoon explained. "But it's true, Taehyung grows on you after a while. Him and all his little ... quirks."

"That sounded bad," Jinyoung picked out, a smile on his face.

"It's not bad," Seokjin intervened. "He's just ... unique!"

"Weird's more like it," Yoongi muttered.

"I think his quirks are cute," Jeongguk defended. "Sky fish and all."

"That's 'cause you like him," Hoseok teased. Jeongguk slapped his exposed arm and Hoseok let out a pained yelp. "You're so evil!"

-

"Here," Jimin pushed some chocolate into Taehyung's hand. Taehyung had been sitting on the bed while Jimin had told him to wait while he got something.

"But didn't-"

"Yeah," Jimin cut Taehyung off. "I managed to save some. Eat it."

Taehyung felt warmth spread through his chest. "Thank you," he murmered. He slowly ate the chocolate bar piece by piece, savoring the flavor. He shoved a piece in Jimin's mouth because he deserved some as well.

After Taehyung finished, he kicked his flip-flops off and pulled the blankets up. "Goodnight Jimin."

Jimin wrapped an arm around Taehyung's waist and let out a yawn. "Goodnight, Tae." Taehyung felt his eyes close, and heard Jimin's breathing even out. It was nice to have Jimin.

The other had always been there for him, and Taehyung couldn't have been more grateful.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cursive is, of course, taehyungs inner self ...? Kinda? Idk, he just really hates himself. Its also his memories (duh) and emphasis. Thats pretty much it

Because of Yoongi's decision, Taehyung hadn't really gone outside of the building for an entire week. He just roamed the building, helping Seokjin and Jinyoung with tedious chores, like cooking the food that kept them alive. 

He occasionally walked out to the gate, waving at the others when they went out to find more supplies. Jackson had told him that Youngjae had planted some tomatoes, carrots, and even an apple tree. He had other vegetables and fruits, but had said it was hard to maintain them. Because of that, the others went out for more food since Taehyung and the others had joined them.

Right now, Taehyung was sitting sitting on his bed, staring at a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter he had knicked from Jimin a while back.

He reached out and opened the pack, rolling a cigarette on his palm. He glanced inside the small box. Only four were left. He contemplated for a while before coming to a decision. Taehyung groaned as he got up. Damn, he felt _old_.

He put the cigarette and lighter in one hand, and stuffed the rest of the pack in his pocket. He shuffled out of his room and made for the stairs. After climbing up two more floors, he reached the door that led to the open roof.

Taehyung opened the door and a cold burst of air hit his face. He shook his head as the cold settled around him. Should've brought a jacket, he reprimanded himself.

The roof was littered with picnic tables and a small gazebo that was probably used for weddings. Some parts of the roof were stained with red and Taehyung tried not to think who the stains came from.

Nobody else was up here and that gave Taehyung some relief. There was no one, not even Jimin, who knew that Taehyung had started smoking a while back, the stress of the apocalypse already having got to him. He walked into the gazebo and leaned against the rail, flicking the lighter on and off.

_I'm weak._

The thought made the brunet release a small, pitiful laugh as he lit the cigarette. He put the cig in between his lips and took a long drag, feeling the nicotine invade his lungs.

He's weak and there was nothing he could do it about. He exhaled, fascinated at the smoke that wisped out in front of him. He watched it disappear, staring long and hard at nothing in particular.

Another drag made him feel calmer than he's ever been. He sighed, and the zombie's bright eyes suddenly flickered in his head. A shiver overtook his body and he couldn't help the tears that slowly started to form.

The feeling passed, and Taehyung was once again left alone with his thoughts.

Why was that zombie different? He pondered. Taehyung started to pace, the cigarette in his fingers currently forgotten. Why were only some zombies intelligent? Why not all of them? He let out an annoyed grunt.

"So many questions, but no answers," He sighed.

Taehyung strolled out of the gazebo, cigarette in his mouth, when the door he entered suddenly opened.

"Where the fuck-" And Taehyung froze, as did the owner's voice when they saw Taehyung.

"Is that a cigarette?" Yoongi closed the door and leaned back against it. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled a couple things under his breath.

"H-Hi hyung," Taehyung weakly replied. He spit the cigarette out onto the floor and stamped it out.

"Taehyung," Yoongi's voice was quiet. "Do you have any more?"

Taehyung slowly nodded. His heart was beating incredibly fast and he really did not want to deal with Yoongi's judgmental shit right now. He stood straighter and forced himself to look Yoongi in the eye.

"I do."

Yoongi nodded and pushed himself off the door. "Would you hand me one?"

That made Taehyung pause. Did Yoongi really want one or was he just trying to fool Taehyung into giving it to him? As Taehyung was debating with himself, Yoongi had stopped in front of him, an eyebrow raised. His hand was held out in front of him, palm open.

"Well?"

Taehyung reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled the pack out. He opened it and placed one on his outstretched hand. Next was the lighter and Yoongi quietly lit it, leisurely inhaling his cigarette.

"God," he mumbled. "'S been so fucking long."

Taehyung carefully put the pack and lighter away. "You smoked before, hyung?"

Yoongi nodded. He blew smoke in Taehyung's face and laughed as Taehyung coughed, his hand waving in front of him. "Yeah. Me and my-" he paused abruptly. "-friends used to smoke before all of this. It was nice, but my brother didn't really like it. Neither did my mom." He let out a bitter laugh. "Like I fucking cared. When did you start? Always thought you were too happy and shit for this cancer stick."

Taehyung shrugged at Yoongi's expectant look. He sat down on a table and layed on it.

"The sky's so blue ..."

Yoongi stayed silent. Taehyung saw him move and felt him sit down next to him. "Eh, I've seen it bluer."

Taehyung was grateful that Yoongi didn't question him on why he changed the subject. They stayed like that, talking about American rappers and Taehyung trying to convince Yoongi that yes, trees can grow money in the right condition.

They were arguing about whether or not feather pillows were more comfortable to sleep on when Jimin called them for lunch. Yoongi had scowled at him and pointed at Taehyung. "This conversation's not over."

Taehyung suddenly wasn't sure if he meant the feather pillows argument, or the cigarette interrogation. Before Taehyung could ask, Yoongi was already descending the stairs, Jimin right behind him.

-

"Yah," Jaebum snapped at Taehyung. "Stop trying to tickle me, I already told you I'm not tickelish!"

Taehyung had already finished eating and got bored watching everybody else eat and talk so he had decided to mess around.

"Sorry, hyung," he shrunk away, a sheepish smile on his face. He got up and walked around before forcing himself in between Yugyeom and Jeongguk.

"-weird graffiti somebody put up," Hoseok was saying. He, Youngjae, and Jaebum had gone out earlier for more supplies where they had seen something unusual.

"What did it say, hyung?" Jeongguk asked. Taehyung felt him link their arms together, his body pressing into Taehyung's a bit more.

"Uh, something something, I know you're alive," he rambled. "Something else about meeting at a mall. The paint didn't look that old, so somebody must've done it recently."

"Wonder who wrote it," Yugyeom commented. He was about to bite a piece of bread but fed it to Taehyung when the other opened his mouth.

Hoseok snapped his fingers, causing them to look at him in surprise. "Wait, somebody did write their name, or nickname, because honestly, it was rather ridiculous. They wrote," he paused, for dramatic effect. "'Byunnie, EXO. Like, does Exo really not know how to spell? If they think they do, then they better start up a school because ..."

Taehyung didn't hear what else Hoseok said, his mind shutting down. _Byunnie?_

 

-

 

_"Yah, what a dumb nickname hyung," Taehyung pouted as his older brother ruffled his hair. "Don't the older kids make fun of you?"_

_"Well I think it's cute, so who cares what they think?" His older brother's lips stretched into a wide smile, causing Taehyung to smile himself. "C'mon, let's go to the park and play with everybody else!"_

_Taehyung was filled with elation at the thought of going outside and playing with his friends. "Will Sehunnie and Chanyeol hyung be there!?"_

_"Definitely." The smile Taehyung gave Baekhyun made the older feel content, his little brother just being the most adorable thing in the world._

_"Taehyung," Baekhyun murmered as they walked. "I love you, you know that right?"_

_Taehyung nodded._

_"So even if appa does bad things, and eomma doesn't really seem ... coherent, you know that I'll always be there for you, right?"_

_Taehyung tilted his head. "What does co-coherend mean?"_

_Baekhyun grabbed Taehyung's hand, rubbing his thumb over Taehyung's. "That doesn't matter. Answer my question, Tae."_

_"Yes, you'll always, always be there for me hyung, and I love you a lot because you're the best, and most wonderfullest person I know!"_

 

_-_

 

Wonderful my ass, Taehyung scowled. He scrubbed his face harder, the cold spray from the shower waking him up. Jackson's story about Bambam came to mind, and Taehyung realized it must've been Chanyeol who killed him. Chanyeol, who had always given Taehyung a popsicle when he was sad and played his guitar for him when appa and eomma didn't come home for days.

"Chanyeol hyung," he whispered, banging his fist against the wall. He managed to convince himself that the water on his face was from the shower, and not tears over his favorite hyung killing Yugyeom's close friend.

After dressing up into some jogging pants and an ugly checkered shirt, he went downstairs to Jackson's room. He knocked, knocked again, and when five seconds passed and nobody answered, he started knocking with both hands.

"Who the hell- Taehyung?" Jackson's hair was a mess, probably having just gotten up from bed. Taehyung would have felt guilty, but he had other pressing matters at hand.

He walked in, forcing Jackson to move back. "I need to ask you something, hyung."

"Yeah, just come in," Jackson sarcastically muttered as he closed the door. "Tae, do you even know what time it is?"

"... five am?"

Jackson shook his head and sluggishly walked to his bed. "What did you wake me up at five am for? It better be fucking important, otherwise you're on weed duty for the rest of your life."

Taehyung ignored his threat and sat next to him. "Where's the mall that Exo claimed at?"

Jackson stared at Taehyung, giving the younger an incredulous look. "Uh, I don't really remember. I think it's about ... two, three hours from here? Why?"

"In what direction?"

"Back from where you guys came from. Listen Taehyung, why do you wanna know?" Jackson couldn't help but feel suspicious, the stoic look on Taehyung's face not really helping.

"Don't worry hyung, I'll tell you tomorrow, or the day after," if I'm still here. Taehyung smiled at him, giving him a brief hug. "Go back to sleep. Sorry for interrupting you." He got up and quietly closed Jackson's door.

Taehyung slowly climbed the stairs, mulling over ideas. He'd have to pack some food, a flashlight, water ... Taehyung groaned. He reached his room, but didn't go inside of it.

_I don't want to be alone._

"Wha-" Jeongguk mumbled sleepily when Taehyung slipped into his bed.

"Shhhh, 'm tired," was all the older said. Taehyung snuggled into his arms and felt happy when Jeongguk pulled him closer. Being this close to the other, Taehyung could feel Jeongguk's heartbeat. It was rather fast, and Taehyung liked to think that it was because of him that the younger couldn't breathe properly.

"G'night," Jeongguk yawned, his lips brushing Taehyung's forehead.

"Mhm."

-

"Stop ignoring me," Taehyung pouted at Jimin. Taehyung was watching Jimin and Jinyoung play ping-pong but got bored really fast. "I wanna play!"

"If you say another word," Jimin said, as he returned the ball with a concentrated look on his face. "I will shove this paddle down your throat."

"Kind of harsh, don't you think?" Jeongguk said as he entered the room, Yoongi and Jackson right behind him.

"Kookie!" Taehyung happily skipped to Jeongguk, giving him a tight hug.

"Isn't that nice?" Jackson said, a smirk on his face. He was slightly elbowing Yoongi, who in turn just gave a constipated look.

"Do you want a hug too?" At Taehyung's suggestion, Jeongguk tightened his grip on him a bit more. "Yah, Kookie, let go. Jackson needs a hug!"

"No, no!" Jackson replied, a mischievous smile on his face. "You two just stay like that, I'll go see how Jinyoung's doing right now."

"Me too," Yoongi grumbled, sending Jeongguk a scowl that only the younger could see. Jeongguk just smiled back, blowing Yoongi a kiss.

"Fucking brat," Taehyung heard Yoongi mutter as he walked past them.

Jimin had lost, and Taehyung laughed as the other wouldn't stop cursing at his paddle, the ping-pong, and finally his hand. He walked over to them, his scowl never leaving his face.

"That was bullshit!" Jimin tried to get into their hug, but Jeongguk pushed him away. "Jeonggukkie, let me iiiiiin!" His scowl transformed into a pout and Taehyung couldn't help but turn around and poke his cheeks.

"How adorable!" Taehyung cooed.

"Go away Jimin," Jeongguk planted his chin on Taehyung's shoulder. "This is our moment and we don't need you to ruin it." He stuck his tongue out at Jimin and Taehyung did the same.

"Yeah, come join our hug!" Taehyung reached out to grab Jimin's arm but Jeongguk stopped him.

Jeongguk lightly bit Taehyung's shoulder, causing him to yelp out in surprise. "If I just said that this is our moment, wouldn't it be contradictory if Jimin joined us?"

"So? Jiminnie is our friend, so he can join our hug, right?" Taehyung's eyes were wide and pleading, and Jeongguk just didn't have the will to reject him.

"I guess," he begrudgingly mumbled. Taehyung's bright smile was worth it though, and Jeongguk just felt really warm and happy that a person like Taehyung was in his life.

"Group hug!" Jimin shouted. He wrapped one arm around Taehyung's waist and one over Jeongguk's neck because he was too fucking tall goddammit.

"You ruined their moment!" Jackson yelled from across the room.

"Nobody was talking to you, hyung!" Jimin held them tighter. "Annoying ..."

"I heard that, punk!"

"Love you too!"

Taehyung felt more than saw Hoseok jump onto them, a crazy laugh echoing in his ears. "Bonding time!" He accidentally tripped Jeongguk, causing them to fall.

"Why are you like this, Hoseok hyung?" Jeongguk scolded as he pulled everybody up.

"You know you love me," Hoseok winked and Taehyung couldn't help a laugh.

"I love not feeling pain even more," Jeongguk ran a hand through his hair. "Let's go sit with Yoongi hyung."

Taehyung watched them go and Jeongguk turned around, his eyebrows furrowed. "You coming, Tae?"

"I-I got some stuff to do," Taehyung hesitantly stepped back. "I'll see you at dinner, okay?" He didn't wait for Jeongguk to respond before he left.

He quickly made it to his room and dumped his backpack out. "What do I need?" Taehyung murmured as he sifted through his stuff.

Blanket? Check.

Full water bottle? Check.

Flashlight? No, he'd have to get that later.

Iodine tablets? Also a no.

Food? He'll just save whatever he get's for lunch and try to make it last as long as it could.

Clothes ...? Eh, they'll just take up space.

Bat? Check.

Taehyung let out a shaky breath and patted his head. He's really gonna do this. Tonight would be the night and Taehyung wasn't sure if Yoongi, Jeongguk, if any of them would ever forgive him.

He snuck out of his room and knocked on Yoongi's door, even though he knew he was downstairs. Nobody answered, so Taehyung slowly opened the door.

The room was just as barren as his, nothing really standing out. Taehyung looked around and found Yoongi's knapsack under his bed.

"What a great hiding spot," he sarcastically mumbled as he dug his hand around for the flashlight. Taehyung found it and looked to see if he had iodine tablets.

He did.

He only had three, but it'd have to do. Taehyung put Yoongi's bag back and got up, his findings in his hands. He peeked his head out, and when he saw nobody, he hurriedly ran to his room.

Now that he thought of it, Taehyung didn't have a way to tell time. He let out an annoyed huff. Great, that was just perfect. He unconsciously touched the pack of cigarettes that were still in his pocket.

_No, don't be weak._

Taehyung swore and kicked his bed. Pain shot up and he clutched his leg, immediately regretting his impulsive action. He fell back on his bed and stared at the wall.

"What am I doing ...?" He whispered. "I'm leaving my friends to see ... what? My asshole of a brother? He never even liked Jimin, even spouting shit like he would be there for me." Anger surged through him before it slowly simmered away.

"... why weren't you there for me ...?"

-

"What's that?" Jimin asked Seokjin who was waving around what seemed to be a pink camera thing. It looked pretty banged up, and Taehyung couldn't believe it was still working.

"A Polaroid camera!" Seokjin explained, a soft smile on his face. "Jinyoung gave to me, saying he had found it and thought I'd like it."

"What store would sell something as crappy as that?" Jeongguk teased.

Seokjin rolled his eyes. "Hush, you. Jimin, Tae, I'm gonna take a picture of you two so move closer together."

"Pictures!" Taehyung squealed. He wrapped an arm around Jimin's shoulder and brought him closer so their heads were pressed against each other. Taehyung brought a hand up and made a 'V' gesture. He felt Jimin do bunny ears and he laughed.

"There!" Seokjin proudly said, the camera already spitting out an image. "That actually came out pretty well," he said, admiring the picture in his hands.

Jeongguk leaned against Seokjin and Taehyung felt something twist in his stomach, making him feel uncomfortable. "Huh, not bad hyung."

Seokjin puffed his chest out, making Taehyung and Jimin laugh. "Gross hyung, you look like a constipated peacock!" Jimin laughed so hard he started coughing.

"Can't you all shut up for five seconds?" Yoongi interrupted, giving them his infamous scowl. "I swear, it's like I'm living with the kids from Sesame Street. Or a mental asylum. Not really much of a difference if you ask me."

"Cheese!" Seokjin said as he took a picture of Yoongi's unimpressed face. "Y'know, if you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles."

Yoongi snorted. "Like I give a fuck. There's just so many things to hate and so little time."

Taehyung took the photo from Seokjin's hands and muffled a laugh. "You look like a grandpa, Yoongi hyung!"

Yoongi just flipped him off, stuffing another mouthful of lettuce in his mouth.

As everybody finished up their food, Taehyung managed to get Seokjin to wrap his food up, saying he wasn't hungry and that he'd eat it later in his room.

Jackson had been giving Taehyung strange looks and Taehyung ignored him, quickly going to his room. He put the food away and felt anticipation course through his veins.

Time to say goodbye.

Seokjin looked at him weirdly when he had hugged him, saying that he loved him. Of course he said he loved Taehyung too, patting his head affectionately.

Namjoon was also a little off guard, laughing at how clingy Taehyung was acting.

Yoongi just stared at him, giving him an awkward pat on his back. "I also hold you in warm regards," he had mumbled, his face a little pink.

Hoseok enthusiastically responded to Taehyung's confession. He had hugged him super tight and peppered kisses all over his face. "You're so cute I could just eat you up!" Taehyung had blushed and hugged Hoseok a little tighter.

Jimin smiled and rubbed his head against Taehyung's. "Stupid, of course I love you! You're like the brother I've always wanted." Taehyung almost cried at that, the guilt almost making him tell Jimin what he was about to do.

Almost.

Jeongguk had blushed like crazy, burying his face in Taehyung's neck. "Hyung, I love you too." Taehyung's heartbeat sped up, Jeongguk's breathing against his neck not really helping.

Jeongguk pulled back a little, so their noses were bumping against each other. Taehyung stared into Jeongguk's deep, intense brown eyes and felt his breath catch. Jeongguk was just ... so beautiful, and Taehyung couldn't believe that they were this close, or even that Jeongguk was his friend.

He was just so, _perfect_.

Suddenly, Jeongguk closed his eyes and Taehyung felt his widen when their lips gently pressed against each other. Their lips were chapped, but Taehyung didn't care, the sound of his heart thundering in his ears. He slowly closed his eyes and kissed back, his hands going up and finding purchase in Jeongguk's hair. Jeongguk had his hands on Taehyung's hips and the older felt him bring him closer.

The kiss was chaste, and Taehyung didn't want to leave anymore. Jeongguk had lured Taehyung in, lured him in with his beautiful laughs, his gorgeous smiles, his perfect personality, and now Taehyung didn't want to let go.

Jeongguk pulled back, a fond smile on his face. Their foreheads were pressed together and Taehyung tried his hardest not to cry. Because soon, they wouldn't see each other, and it would be his fault.

"Stay with me tonight?" Jeongguk whispered, his hands squeezing him slightly.

"I-I can't," Taehyung tried not to stutter, he really did. The crestfallen look on Jeongguk's face made Taehyung feel terrible. "Tomorrow?" Taehyung help up his pinkie. "Tomorrow for sure, okay?"

_Liar._

Although Jeongguk still looked sad, there was a hopeful gleam in his eye. "Tomorrow?" He wrapped his pinkie around Taehyung's.

_Selfish bastard._

"Tomorrow," Taehyung promised, lifting his other hand to cup Jeonguuk's cheek.

_You're just like your brother._

"I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Jee, thank you for your comment, you don't know how much it meant to me :* And I'm not sure, but I'll try to update at least once a week unless I'm super inspired and on a roll. You too tz! Thank you boooooooth! :D
> 
> Second; Wow, I'm glad you liked it. Honestly, either bc I'm the writer or something, it's painful for me to reread this and I cringe so much. Once again, thank you both!
> 
> P.S. This is short and I am unsatisfied but whatever

Hours later, after Taehyung was absolutely sure that no one was up or walking through the halls, he changed out of his pajamas and made sure he had everything ready so he could leave. He slipped his backpack on and slowly opened his door.

Taehyung poked his head out and left when he saw that the hall was clear.

He was about to go down the stairs, but something made him stop. Glancing at the door he was in front of, he realized it was Jeongguk's room. Taehyung felt his heart drop, guilt and self-hatred overtaking him.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," Taehyung whispered as he pressed his palm against the door.

_But not sorry enough to stay._

"Shut up," he grimaced. Taehyung gave one last look at Jeongguk's door before he set down the stairs. Halfway down he froze, the buzz of voices carrying up from downstairs.

Since the voices weren't getting any closer, Taehyung decided it was safe enough to advance. He reached the bottom of the stairs and saw that the door connected to the receptionist's office was slightly ajar, some light spilling into the lobby.

"-going on with Taehyung," Jackson's voice came out muffled. Taehyung slowed to a crawl, holding his backpack so it wouldn't make any loud noises.

"And?" Came Yoongi's unimpressed response. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but Taehyung's always doing some weird shit that nobody knows about. Seokjin hyung finds it cute, as well as the new brat, but it's never out of the ordinary."

"Yeah," Jaebum's voice interjected. "Honestly Jackson, the kid seems harmless enough."

"He wanted to know where Exo's mall is."

Silence.

Not waiting to see what they would do or say, Taehyung marched on and speed walked to the door. It was quietly opened and quietly closed. He was extremely thankful that the door didn't creak and give him away.

Another thing he was relieved about was that whoever was patrolling wasn't out front at the current time. Again, Taehyung sprinted to the golf carts only to swear at the situation when he beamed his flashlight around.

In front of the gate were a couple of zombies just standing there, and Taehyung did not want to jump into them. He trailed down the fence and started to hum as loudly as he could while scuffing his feet on the gravel for good measure. Seconds passed and once Taehyung was satisfied with the number of zombies he ran back to golf carts, pulled himself up on one and jumped over the fence.

Taehyung used his flashlight to light up the road and felt his heart speed up. There were a lot of zombies, and Taehyung didn't have his bat out yet so they would be a bit of a problem. Even now some zombies were starting to quickly limp in his direction.

He had to put as much distance between him and the others and he'd just be hindered if he stopped to fight every zombie he met on the way.

"Well, fuckers," Taehyung muttered as he took off. "Guess who's been practicing?" He dodged zombies hands, pulled back from outstretched hands, and even hit one zombie with his flashlight. "Yeah bitches, guess who started training with Jiminnie!" He let out a laugh before he realized what he said.

_Jimin._

Taehyung jumped on a car hood and ran faster to leap over a bunch of zombies in front of him. "Sorry, but my flashlight only has about two to three hours of energy and I really need to go!" He launched himself over them, turning his body so he could roll and soften the blow a bit.

"Fuck, that still hurts!" He winced, making sure to start running again. The zombies started to thin out and Taehyung felt the adrenaline push him on.

_Just wait, 'Byunnie'. I'm coming and you better have an explanation for all your bullshit._

-

"Taehyung hasn't come out for a while," Seokjin murmered, obviously concerned. "Doesn't he want breakfast?"

Jimin shrugged as he bit into another apple slice. "Maybe he's just really tired? I know I'd be if you kept nagging me like that."

Seokjin scowled and pinched a laughing Jimin. "I do not nag!" He looked aroumd for support but everybody was ignoring his gaze. "Oh shut up, all of you."

"Didn't even say anything," Jeongguk snickered. He nudged Namjoon who only rolled his eyes at their little spat.

Jackson suddenly stood up, causing everybody to look at him. "Something's definitely wrong," he quietly said. It was a rhetorical question, and Jackson quickly exiting the cafeteria to who knows where.

"What's up with him?" Hoseok asked Jaebum. Jaebum looked at where Jackson had left, and shook his head.

"... it's nothing, really. I'll be right back."

Hoseok let out a snort as Jaebum walked away. "Yeah, it's nothing all right. Whatever you say, bud."

Hoseok went back to talking with Jinyoung and Youngjae and breakfast was once again breakfast.

"Why are you just looking at your apples?" Namjoon asked Yugyeom. Yugyeom snapped out of his daze and let out a sheepish laugh.

"Ah, it's just, Taehyung used to always take a few and now it feels weird to be able to eat the all of them by myself ..."

Seokjin scoffed and shook his head. "Yugyeom, you shouldn't let that scoundrel steal your food! He already has his own, the greedy brat."

"No, it was fine with me, hyung," Yugyeom smiled. "Taehyung hyung is really nice and he never forced me to give him any of my food."

Jimin's eyes widened and he pointed an accusing finger at Yugyeom. "Wait, is that why you always gave Tae a bit of your food whenever he opened his mouth!?"

Yugyeom slowly nodded and Jimin let out an incredulous shriek. "Fucking Taehyung, not even sharing food! He even steals my body heat, that sneaky kid!"

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "You guys are the same age, I don't know why you're calling him a kid."

"And I'm older than you, so I don't know why you aren't calling me hyung," Jimin retaliated, staring at Jeongguk impassively.

Jeongguk stared back, just as impassive. "... touché."

Their conversation was interrupted when Jackson and Jaebum came running back into the cafeteria. Jackson had this grim, knowing look on his face while Jaebum looked tense.

"Did something ...?" Seokjin trailed off. He slowly got up, his face looking even more worried.

Jackson let out a terse laugh. "Taehyung's gone, and I'm pretty sure I know where he went."

-

Taehyung groaned as light filtered through the bedroom window. "What time is it?" He grumbled, trying to kick Jimin's leg under the sheets.

His foot hit nothing but air.

Taehyung opened his eyes and saw that yes, he was indeed alone. Nobody was there next to him, no one was talking or laughing in the hall, and that was when Taehyung finally understood.

_I'm alone._

"Heh, guess I am," he ran his fingers through his hair while he pushed his blanket aside. Taehyung looked around and saw that his backpack was on the floor, his flashlight was charging in front of the window, and there was nobody around, not even a dead zombie.

"Where ...?" After taking a closer look, he recognized the room. "Base Fencewall!" Taehyung shouted. He laughed and spun in a little circle. "Told you I'd be back!"

Taehyung looked outside and noticed the gate still standing, but just barely. It seemed to be caving in on itself, the gate still a bit too high for the zombies to come in.

"Yeesh, better get a move on." Taehyung picked up his backpack and dug around for his water. It had gone down drastically, him having wasted more than half after running for what felt like hours. He took a tiny sip before putting it away, stuffing a couple stale croutons in his mouth.

Taehyung slung his backpack on and set off and outside of the house. It always surprised him on how he could easily break or twist his ankle from jumping so high.

"Good thing I'm a pro!" And shit, some zombies heard him and now he needed to leave asap.

-

"We have to go after him!" Jeongguk angrily yelled, slamming his hands against the table.

Everybody was silent, each in their own little world. Everybody except for Yoongi.

"If he is with Exo, then he's either dead, or a prisoner by now. We don't have enough ammunition to get him back."

Jimin snapped out of whatever he was thinking, silent tears streaming down his face. "He told me he loved me. Did he- did he plan this? To leave us? To leave ... me?"

Seokjin wrapped his arms around the younger. Jimin did nothing to stop him, his face blank and tear ridden.

"No, Taehyung wouldn't do this!" Jeongguk continued to shout. "He's not- he wouldn't! He isn't that kind of person!"

Hoseok tried to hug Jeongguk, but he just pushed Hoseok away. "Dont touch me!" He growled. Hoseok flinched back, his face somber and hurt. Jeongguk's expression softened and he immediately regretted his actions. "Hyung, I didn't-"

"It's okay," he cut Jeongguk off. "I- I'll be in my room." Hoseok was gone before anybody could stop him.

"We can't go after him," Yoongi continued. His face was completely impassive, as well as his voice. "It was his choice to go. His last words to us prove that he knew what he was getting himself into."

Jeongguk faced Yoongi, his teeth clenched and fists balled in anger. "So? He's our friend and friends stick together! For all we know, he's out there wounded by some other crazy rogue gang!"

Yoongi stared at him, his face giving nothing away. "I am not going. Neither is Seokjin hyung, nor Namjoon. I can assume that Jaebum and them are also going to stay. I will not give you a gun, but I also won't stop you-" he briefly glanced at Jimin who was still motionless. "-or Jimin, from going out. Before you do anything rash, think this over. Tell me in a couple of hours, or tomorrow morning, what you're going to do. If you do leave, whether alone or with others, I will have Seokjin give you some provisions. That is all." Yoongi gave him a curt nod before turning away and walking out of the cafeteria, never once looking back.

Jeongguk felt the fight go out of him as he dropped to his knees, his head in his hands.

"... you promised me ..."

_Was it all a lie?_

-

This was the fifth graffiti of Exo Taehyung had passed so far. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at a particular one with especially bad handwriting.

"Not only narcissistic, but dumb too? Just wow ..."

Not too far off, Taehyung suddenly heard a crash. He twirled his bat once to calm himself, and walked toward the noise. As he got closef to the corner of a shop, another crash came and Taehyung steeled himself.

He slowly peeked around the corner and there someone was with a ... sword? Whoever they were, they kept hacking into a zombie, blood and puss gushing from its face that was now cut in half. The person let out a grunt, and Taehyung noticed how short they were. At least, compared to him they were short. Taehyung wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure this guy was wearing leather pants. That made him cringe because really? Who wears that now when you gotta run if shit goes down?

Like now.

"Who's there!?" The guy yelled. He hadn't turned around, but Taehyung was absolutely sure that he had been talking to him.

Taehyung ran as fast as he could, dodging tipped over grocery carts and zombie carcasses.

_Coward._

"Uh, it's called surving?" He panted out, giving a glance back to see if he was being followed. Yes, the guy was hot on his trail and Taehyung would've let out an embarrassing shriek if he didn't know any better. Good thing he doesn't.

"Please don't kill me!" He yelled, running as fast as he could. The guy shouted something back but Taehyung didn't hear him because he tripped. Over his own feet. Onto the ground. Hard.

"Fuuuck ..."

Taehyung kept his eyes closed, even when he heard the man approach him. He curled up in a ball and gripped his bat tighter.

"Please, don't kill me," Taehyung said, the nervousness in his voice beyond evident.

_Wait until he gets closer._

"Why did you run?" The guy asked. His voice was smooth and he didn't even sound tired, the cocky bastard! His footsteps came nearer and Taehyung started to mentally prepare himself.

_Why? It's not like this is the first time you've killed somebody._

Quickly, Taehyung swung his bat out, hoping to catch the guy off guard.

He didn't.

The guy just jumped back, an amused smile on his heart-shaped lips. Snarky bastard.

Taehyung scowled and pushed himself up, his bat cautiously held out in front of him.

"Look," Taehyung started, the man's smile falling off his lips. "I'm just looking for Exo, so if you could just-"

"Taehyung?"

Both of them froze, Taehyung's arms slowly lowering. "How do you ...?"

The guy laughed, his whole body shaking from the force of it. "Man, and I thought Baekhyun was making you up, swearing you were alive and shit!" He looked Taehyung up and down, circling around him once. "Your guys' faces look similar, but you're obviously taller than Baek. God, I don't wanna deal with two obnoxious Byun's."

During the handsome man's whole ordeal, Taehyung had just stood there, mouth hanging open like an idiot.

"You-" he finally got out. "Do you know my brother?"

The guy snorted. "Wish I didn't, the lazy fucker. He's been talking about you for months, so why don't ya follow me and I'll lead you to him."

Taehyung slowly nodded even though he knew this guy could be lying to him and could probably be just as easily sliced as that zombie earlier.

"The name's Do Kyungsoo," the guy said, with an arched eyebrow. If Taehyung hadn't see him kill that zombie, he probably would have thought Kyungsoo was a delicate flower with a baby face.

Definitely not delicate.

"Let's go and have a wonderful family reunion, shall we?"

Taehyung gave him a strained smile. "Okay."

_Not okay at all._


	7. Chapter 7

Kyungsoo led Taehyung through the streets, turning every couple blocks and occasionally glancing back at him. Taehyung was being uncharacteristically quiet, and he felt his mouth twitch, itching to talk about anything, but he just couldn't.

"You know," Kyungsoo broke the silence, slowing down to walk beside Taehyung. "I always wondered why Baekhyun said he had a brother, and now that I met you, I can't understand why you two didn't find each other earlier."

Taehyung didn't like how Kyungsoo already knew something was up. He felt Kyungsoo staring at him, and he really didn't know what to say without blurting everything out.

"We had some ... unresolved issues. That's why I'm looking for him now, because I want some sort of-" _answer?_ Taehyung shook his head. Closure? Maybe. He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted.

Taehyung saw Kyungsoo give a thoughtful nod. "I see. Hey, we're about to come across a mall and there's a lot of zombies that like to loiter there. I want you to stay close because some of these guys are a lot smarter, and faster, then they look."

Kyungsoo grabbed Taehyung's arm and pulled him behind him. They started to walk slower, Kyungsoo looking around for anything suspicious. They passed more small shops and Taehyung heard a faint scuffling in one of them, causing them to walk even slower.

Eventually, a mall came into view and Taehyung immediately recognized it and the giant logo on it.

SM Mall.

It was enormous and Taehyung felt his breath catch at how it stood tall, it's tall glass windows for the entrance gone, shattered from bullets. Items were packed in front of it, like couches and other furniture to stop the zombies from coming in he assumed. Even though the outside of the building was stained with graffiti and cars had crashed into it, the mall didn't seem to care. Kyungsoo was also right about the zombies, numerous of them just walking about, hunched over and shaking. Some legless ones were dragging their bodies to and fro, blood and their entrails trailing behind them.

If that wasn't horrific enough, the amout of dead bodies that littered the parking lot added more to the gruesome scene. Some bodies were still in their cars, probably having tried to escape while others were limp on the pavement. Taehyung saw a mother's body holding hands with a little zombie girl. The mother's eyes were wide, filled with nothing but the lifeless look of the deceased. The toddler was growling, but it never approached them. She just stood close to the mother, a little doll on the ground next to her.

"Oh my god," he whispered. The girl looked his way and hissed, but otherwise didn't move.

Kyungsoo nodded, a sigh escaping his lips. "It's really tragic, but there's nothing we can do about it." He looked around and pointed at a side entrance that had boards all over it, a 'Do No Enter' graffitied onto them. Next to the metal door was a number keypad and two zombies who were biting each others arms. "That's where we're going. I'll kill the zombies and you put in the number code. 256113, okay?"

Taehyung didn't even get to nod his confirmation before Kyungsoo sprinted off. He pulled out his sword and started to cut the zombies down. The commotion caused other zombies to start limping towards Kyungsoo so Taehyung quickly made his way to the keypad, repeatedly mumbling the numbers under his breath.

"256113, 256113, 256113 ..." he punched the numbers in and the red dot on the keypad turned green. Taehyung opened the door and looked back at Kyungsoo. "I opened it!"

"Good!" Kyungsoo beheaded a short, presumably male zombie before he made his way over to Taehyung. "Get in and I'll close the door!"

Taehyung didn't wait for him to finish, already hurrying into the building. He entered an open space, light filtering in from the window ceiling. Looking further up, he saw that there were at least three floors, shop entances on every side. Taehyung glanced around and saw kiosks tipped over, phone cases and dried blood littering the ground.

"You gonna move?" Kyungsoo's amused voice rang out behind him. Taehyung felt his face heat up and he immediately moved.

"Are there no zombies?" Taehyung asked, turning around to look at everything.

Kyungsoo laughed at Taehyung and the amazed look on his face. "None at all. We cleared this place up, and it helps that there are twelve-" Taehyung waited for Kyungsoo to finish, but he didn't.

He looked back at Kyungsoo, wondering why he cut himself off. The other had a pained expression, finally looking up at Taehyung. "I mean, eight. Eight of us here."

"So," Taehyung softly smiled, not wanting an awkward silence to settle over them. Because honestly, nobody wants to talk about their lost companions. "Where's everybody else at?"

Kyungsoo blanked out before his lips lifted in a small, but definitely there, smile. "Let's check out GameStop. I know a few dip-shits who love that place."

As they climbed the immobile escalators to the second floor, Kyungsoo explained the mall. "We have electricity since Minseok hyung, our leader I guess, rigged it up to some solar panels from a store in here. He's incredibly smart and doesn't take shit from no one. Joonmyun, Minseok hyungs second in command you could say, is also very smart. He made an alarm system so that if any zombies or anything else breaks in, we're able to know without said intruders knowledge." He pointed at his watch.

Kyungsoo stopped, putting an arm out in front of Taehyung before he hit the glass doors. "We're here."

He opened the door and when Taehyung entered he heard guns going off, somebody screaming, and another person laughing incredibly loud. Kyungsoo gave him an exasperated look before advancing. "I told you fucks to keep it down!" He yelled, slowly walking in and waving Taehyung along.

The whole store was cleared out so that it could accommodate two three person couches and an 80-inch flatscreen tv. On the screen was Black Ops 3, two person split-screen, and four people were smushed into one couch.

"Jongin, I swear," a deep voice boomed over the loud speakers. "If you shoot me one more fucking time!"

Kyungsoo went up and smacked the guy's head, causing him to let out a yelp of pain. Taehyung saw one of the guys on the screen die.

"Kyungsoo! What the fuck, you just let Jongin kill me!" The guy next to deep voice was laughing.

"Like you would've won anyways!"

"Shut up Jongdae!"

"Guys," Kyungsoo interrupted their petty argument. "I brought a guest that I'm sure you'd all love to see." He pointed back at me and everybody's heads turned in my direction. "His name's Taehyung. Byun Taehyung."

It was eerily silent, only the NPC's shouts from the game interrupting.

"Oh. My. God," deep voice guy whispered. Taehyung noticed he had dark brown eyes and grey dyed hair was falling into his eyes. He absently brushed them back as he got up. "TAEHYUNG!!"

The guy fucking leaped over the couch and tackled him to the ground. Taehyung started panicking and tried to pry the guy off of him.

"Taehyunnie, I never thought I'd see you again!" The guy's voice was choked up, and their grip on him tightened. Taehyung stilled in shock, recognizing the nickname.

"Chanyeol hyung ...?"

He pulled back, and it was Chanyeol. The smile was the same, and Taehyung noticed that his weird (yet oddly endearing) Yoda ears were poking out through his messy hair. Some tears were running down his face, and Chanyeol gave him a huge smile.

"Chanyeol hyung," Taehyung whispered, tears of happiness forming. "I missed you so much!" He pulled Chanyeol back into their hug, muffled laughs spilling from his lips.

They stayed like that, nobody else butting into their moment.

Chanyeol combed his fingers through Taehyung's hair, humming an old song he composed next to his ear. Taehyung smiled at the nostalgia he felt at hearing him sing again.

"Baby don't cryyy, tonight," Chanyeol quietly sang, his chin propped on Taehyung's shoulder. It was a song Chanyeol had composed himself as a child. He had asked Baekhyun to sing for him, and Taehyung was their audience. To him it was impressive that the other could compose such harmonious melodies, his brother only adding to the beauty with his amazing voice. He loved watching them perform together on Chanyeol's backyard porch, Sehun occasionally joining Taehyung as he quietly listened.

Taehyung's smile grew, the tears finally slowing. "Thank you, hyung."

Chanyeol let out a loud laugh and pulled Taehyung back. "What? This is the least I could do for my favorite dongsaeng!" His smile was fond, and his eyes scrunched up into little cresents that Baekhyun used to make fun of.

_Don't be fooled, he killed Bambam._

Taehyung felt himself freeze up again, his smile turning stiff.

How could he have forgotten? Jackson had told him that an extremely tall person killed Bambam. But, what if he was wrong? Chanyeol couldn't be the only tall person here!

"Taehyunnie?" Chanyeol asked, his voice filled with concern. He lifted a hand and brushed Taehyung's tears away. "You okay?"

"Ah, yeah," Taehyung nodded. He pushed his mixed feelings away, just wanting to be with his favorite hyung again. "Oh, can you, um, introduce me to them?" Taehyung pointed at the others on the couch who were still staring.

Chanyeol gave him another bright smile. "No prob!" He stood up and helped Taehyung as well.

First, he pointed to a guy who was waving at them, a cat-like grin on their face. "This asshole is Jongdae-" Next was the guy Chanyeol was sitting with. He had tanned skin and a friendly smile. "-the ever stunning Jongin-" he skipped over Kyungsoo who had taken over his spot. "-you already met Mr. Party-pooper-" Last to be introduced was a guy with brown hair and strikingly pale skin. "-last, and most definitely least, is Joonmyun hyung!"

Taehyung bowed while the others continued to wave at him. "Uh, hi, I'm Taehyung." Stupid, they already know your name! "Nice to meet you all."

Jongdae got up and scowled when he noticed that Taehyung was taller then him. "At least you're nicer then Baekhyun." He shook Taehyung's hand, a mischievous smile replacing his previous scowl.

Chanyeol snorted at Jongdae's statement, already lifting a hand to contradict him. Taehyung elbowed him hard, a smile still on his face even when everyone stared from him to a whimpering Chanyeol.

"Unnecessary violence!" He croaked out.

Jongdae let out a loud laugh. He patted Taehyung's back, sending him a wink. "Yeah, I think we'll get along together just fine."

"Hey I- who's this?" Somebody asked. It was a new voice, a little higher than Kyungsoo's, and it filled through the room.

Taehyung turned and felt the grip on his bat loosen. His face hardened, his earlier smile vanishing. Taehyung cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving the others shocked face.

"Hey, Baekhyun. Missed me?"

-

"I'll go with you guys," Jackson announced. He had barged into Jeongguk's room where said person and Jimin had been talking.

"We- we're still not sure about what we should do," Jimin hesitated.

Jackson stared at them and knew they were avoiding his gaze. "Bullshit. I want in and you'll let me because, for one, I have a gun."

"I want in too!" A voice blurted out from behind Jackson. He turned around and saw Yugyeom standing there, his face tense. "Exo needs to go down."

Jeongguk stood up and stared at him. "We're not going for Exo, we're going for Taehyung. But hey, why not knock a few heads on the way there?" He glanced back at Jimin who was twiddling his thumbs and nervously biting his bottom lip. "I'll go tell Yoongi hyung. We leave in two hours."

-

"Taehyung?" Baekhyun's voice was unbelieving. He reached out a hand to cup Taehyung's face but the younger pulled back, furthering himself from his brother's reach. Baekhyun bit his lip and looked around, slowly retracting his hand. "Hey, how about we take a walk and catch up?"

Taehyung glanced at the others and agreed with Baekhyun when he saw their curious looks. Chanyeol was the only one who looked worried.

_This is between me, and him._

"C'mon," Baekhyun beckoned him, already walking out of the store.

Taehyung caught up eventually, taking his sweet time. It was the _least_ he could do for his benevolent brother.

Baekhyun kept glancing at Taehyung, his hands reaching out for his baby brother before he quickly pulled them back. "So," he broke the silence. "Were you with some other people or have you been alone this entire time?" Baekhyun cringed at how bad that sounded.

Taehyung wouldn't have been alone if only Baekhyun had stayed with him. They both knew that, but it remained unsaid.

"I was with Jimin the entire time," Taehyung made sure not to look in Baekhyun's direction. "We met some more people and I left them to come here."

Baekhyun slowly nodded even though Taehyung didn't see it. Another uncomfortable silence fell over them as they continued to walk.

"I wanna know why you did it," Taehyung stopped walking, fixing an intense stare on Baekhyun's surprised face. "Why did you leave me alone with them? Do you know how many times I got beat by appa?" Taehyung felt tears well up but he blinked them away. "I waited for you to come back, but you never did! I stayed out all night, wishing, praying, _hoping_ that you would come back and save me from them!"

The painful look on Baekhyun's face hurt Taehyung's heart, but he didn't want to give in. He needed answers.

"Eomma wasn't any better you know. She started burning me. Almost killed me when she tried to make me drink bleach. Do you know what I did?" Taehyung's throat felt constricted with grief and he rubbed his face. "You wanna know what I did to make it all stop? Before one of them would actually finish the job and kill me?"

Baekhyun's eyes were shiny with unshed tears. "Tae, no, please ..." Again he reached for Taehyung, and this time the younger let him pull him into a tight embrace.

"I killed them first," Taehyung whispered, his voice coming out hollow. "The cop told me that they overdosed. I think one of them knew I did it, but once they saw the scars, they didn't say anything."

Baekhyun was crying into Taehyung's shirt, the way his hands were shaking made Taehyung feel some sick sort of pleasure.

_You should feel guilty. You left me when I needed you most._

"Jimin and his family adopted me. I suffered with those fuckers and their abuse for _four years_. They were smart though, making sure none of my scars and bruises were visible." A hysteric laugh came out of Taehyung's mouth. "Who knew that I actually learned how to live more from them than I ever did you?"

Taehyung stared at the ceiling knowing he had a blank look on his face. Baekhyun's sobs got louder and his nails dug into his back. Taehyung didn't cry out though, already used to the pain.

"I never cried when I accidentally got hurt messing with Jimin or anyone at school. I had to fake it. Fake everything. The yells of pain, the, 'Ow, I stubbed my toe'! I even lied about caring to live."

Baekhyun started mumbling apologies into his shirt. Taehyung felt his snot and tears wetting it, but he didn't care. He never did.

"I ... almost did it. Almost ended my life, but then I realized something. Why should I have to suffer? Jimin," Taehyung smiled fondly. "Jimin is the most wonderful person you'd ever meet. He made it easier for me, made me want to keep going. And now, Jeongguk as well."

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to leave," Baekhyun repeated. "I had too, I needed to get money."

"Jeongguk," Taehyung ignored him. "Is really handsome. No, gorgeous! Beautiful, magnificent, stunning, perfect! He made me feel loved and wanted. He let me by myself and didn't hurt me for it, encouraged it even. And I left him. Like you left me."

" _Taehyung_ ," Baekhyun pleaded.

Taehyung finally looked down at his brother. Baekhyun's face had tear streaks running down his cheeks and his nose was incredibly red. His eyes were just as red and Taehyung marveled at how he was still able to talk coherently.

He brought his hands up and cupped his older brother's face. Taehyung thumbed the stray tears away, and used a blanket from his backpack to wipe his snot away.

"Baekhyun," Taehyung started, staring straight into the others eyes. "I want to hate you. I want to hate you _so_ bad. But I can't, and that's why I hate myself."

"Don't," Baekhyun shook his head and gripped the front of Taehyung's shirt. "It's me, hate me. Hate me! I- I left you to collect money so we could go away, so we could leave them and never return! I wanted to support you so much, but appa always found the money and took it!" Taehyung brushed a stray hair from the older's face. "I wanted to give us- _you_ a better life, but I didn't. I didn't and look what happened ..."

Baekhyun looked down and pulled at Taehyung's shirt. Taehyung sighed and pulled it off. When it was off, he heard Baekhyun gasp in horror.

So many scars were on Taehyung's chest and back. Cigarette burns, small and large scars from the glass his eomma had sometimes used. Taehyung shivered when Baekhyun trailed his fingers over them.

"If I knew they had done this to you, I would've killed them myself," Baekhyun's voice came out hoarse.

"But you didn't."

_Nobody did, except for myself._

Baekhyun stared for a while longer before he gave him his shirt back. Taehyung put it back on and released an emotionally exhausted sigh. Not like anybody could tell the difference between that and his regular sigh.

"I'm going back," Taehyung said. He rubbed his eyes and was caught off guard when Baekhyun grabbed his wrist.

"No, please stay," he begged. "I want- _need_ to make it up to you. For everything I was gone for, for everything I let happen to you."

Taehyung scoffed.

_Who do you need to make up to? Me, or yourself?_

He was about to yell at Baekhyun but he stopped himself. "Baekhyun, I don't hate you, but I don't love you either." Baekhyun's face fell at that. Taehyung once again felt his heart constrict with unwanted emotions. "At least, not as much as I used to. I'll stay one more night, but tomorrow morning, I'm gone. Whether you're awake or not, I'm leaving whenever I feel like it. Got it?"

Baekhyun rapidly nodded, a smile overtaking his face. "Before you leave, I'll make sure you smile at me at least once!"

Taehyung rolled his eyes, softly pushing Baekhyun away. Even though he did that, he still felt his heart warm at what the older said.

"We'll see," Taehyung turned around to go back to GameStop. Baekhyun let out a weak laugh behind him and jogged up next to him. He intertwined their hands together when they were side by side. As before, Taehyung did not shake it off, or pull away.

_I never hated you, but I wish I did. I always, and still, love you, and I wish I didn't._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspiritcassiexoxo and akma nafeera; Thank you lovelies for your wonderful comments! :D inspirit, I'm glad you like this story and I hope you maybe continue to like it..? And akma, I'm really not sure where this story is going, I'm just winging it. Sort of. But once again, thank you both for your lovely comments!
> 
> I feel like this chap was really depressing. Welp, I was listening to 'Safe and Sound' while typing this. Whoop-de-fucking-do ^-^


	8. Chapter 8

You know how distant relatives like to tell you how much you've grown since the last time they've seen you? How aunts like to pinch your cheeks and coo over you? Well Taehyung was that child, and Chanyeol was that aunt, that distant relative.

"Hyuuung," Taehyung whined as Chanyeol continued to play with his hair and occasionally pinch Taehyung's cheeks.

"What?" Chanyeol briefly patted his cheek before he gripped Taehyung's chin and started moving it up and down. "You're just so adorable!"

Taehyung tried to get up and managed to get to his knees before Chanyeol dragged him down into his lap again.

"No, you aren't allowed to leave until I say you can, and that will be never."

Taehyung sent a distressed look to anybody willing to help him out of his Chanyeol predicament. Everybody was smiling at them, Joonmyun even sending him an apologetic smile. Jongin was still engrossed in his video game and Kyungsoo was napping on the empty couch. It was then that Taehyung knew no one would come to his rescue. He sighed and reluctantly let Chanyeol continue to coddle him. "Wow Tae, you have such a nice jaw! And fluffy hair! Baekyun's hair is stiff since he dyed it so much."

Taehyung nodded along, not even paying attention to the others who were now laughing at him and Chanyeol's blatant display of affection.

Looking around, he noticed that it was still just them in the room. One, two, three, four, five, six. Six people were in the room. Taehyung momentarily zoned out, Chanyeol's voice buzzing in the background.

_Weren't there supposed to be eight people? Where are the other two?_

-

Yugyeom was alone with Jackson, helping him pack his stuff. "Hyung, can we really go through with this?"

Jackson stopped packing and glanced up at him. Yugyeom looked nervous, and him biting his nails wasn't really helping. The older sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yugyeom, JYP has helped us with a lot of stuff. Either way, Exo needs to go."

"But we can't kill Taehyung!" Yugyeom started, quickly covering his mouth at how loud he had been. He looked back at the door nervously, hoping nobody had heard him.

Jackson sighed. "Listen, he went over to Exo. There's nothing we can do about it. You know JYP said kill Exo and anybody affiliated with them."

Yugyeom shook his head. "What if he's being kept prisoner, what if he's not actually helping them or anything?"

An irritated noise left Jackson's throat. "I already told you, they're all targets. I know it's unfortunate, but Jimin, Jeongguk, and Taehyung are just collateral. Remember that." Jackson went back to packing and Yugyeom just stood by, silently watching him.

-

"I'm gonna check up on Sehun," Kyungsoo yawned as he got up. He lazily stretched and Taehyung noticed Baekhyun stare at him. How cute.

"Wait," Taehyung pushed Chanyeol's pursed lips away from his cheeks. "Oh Sehun? The bratty skinny kid that's obsessed with bubble tea? That Sehun?"

Chanyeol let out an indignant squawk which Taehyung ignored. Kyungsoo nodded and he started to walk away. "Yep. If you wanna come, just follow me."

Taehyung got up, Chanyeol already starting to trail behind him. "I'll come with you guys!" He chirped. Baekhyun must've seen Taehyung's face because he grabbed Chanyeol's arm and roughly pulled him back onto the couch.

"No, you won't. Now shut up and play against Jongin. He's been whining for the past ten minutes that Jongdae was a shitty player and it's getting annoying."

Taehyung sent him a thumbs-up and sprinted after Kyungsoo. They went downstairs and entered a mattress store. Kyungsoo led him to the back and Taehyung saw some guy, who he assumed was Sehun. He was sleeping on a bed, his blond dyed hair standing out from the white sheets.

Sehun looked really skinny, the shirt on his torso seemingly baggy. His eyes had dark circles around them, as if he hadn't slept in months. Every couple of seconds his body suddenly jerked, and Taehyung was surprised that he didn't wake himself up.

"Ah, he's asleep," Kyungsoo murmured, pushing back Sehun's matted bangs. "We should come back later."

Taehyung nodded. Sehun looked horrible, and seemed like he really needed this nap.

Halfway back through the store, a tired voice called out to them.

"Hyung," Sehun's voice cracked at the end, causing both of them to turn their heads back in his direction.

Sehun was sitting up, his back pressed up against the headboard, one hand rubbing at his eyes. "Who's that with you?"

"You should go back to sleep, Sehunnie," Kyungsoo rushed back to Sehun and fussed over him. He draped a blanket over Sehun's body, but the other just pushed it away. Taehyung hesitantly stopped next to the bed, not sure if he should introduce himself yet.

"Taehyung ...?" Sehun squinted up at him, and the other felt his heart clench. What happened to the happy, obnoxious little kid he knew?

"Yeah, it's me," Taehyung let out a small laugh as he sat down next to him.

"If you need me, just message me, okay?" Kyungsoo tapped his finger on his watch and brushed Sehun's hair back. Sehun nodded and the older left with a satisfied nod.

"Sehun, what happened?" Taehyung knew he probably shouldn't have asked that, but he looked so pathetically weak and Taehyung was scared to even touch him.

"... that bad, huh?" He let out a dry laugh which ended with a raspy cough. Taehyung only watched, his heart once again clenching at his friend's discomfort and pain.

"You okay?"

Sehun waved him off with a breathy scoff. "Of course I am! 'S not like I'm a porcelain doll or anything."

Taehyung didn't say anything since he didn't really agree with Sehun's statement. He coughed into his hand again, and this time Taehyung saw blood dripping from his fingers.

"I think we should call Kyungsoo," Taehyung quickly got up, already prepared to run and inform Kyungsoo. Sehun stopped him by weakly pulling on hoodie.

"No, I'm fine. I rather not worry them with my tedious problem."

Taehyung let out an incredulous noise. "Tedious? You think coughing up blood is tedious!? Then me getting shot five times in the face must be absolutely ridiculous!"

Sehun looked down at his folded hands. He didn't say a word, so Taehyung decided to just comply with the other's wishes.

"I'm like this because I don't eat or sleep a lot," Sehum mumbled, flicking his bloodshot eyes at Taehyung every couple seconds. "Yixing hyung, the closest person to a doctor we had, said I had depression." His breath hitched before he continued. "I saw my boyfriend, Luhan, die right in front of me. It was horrible, and I'll never forget it. I guess that's what made me like this."

Sehun abruptly stopped talking as he hunched over and harshly coughed into hand. Taehyung saw even more blood land on his friend's hand and he really wanted to get Kyungsoo, afraid that Sehun would bleed out or something. He gingerly rubbed his hand on Sehun's back and whispered comforting words.

"Sehun, I should really get Kyungsoo to check you out."

Just as before, Sehun waved him off. "After I tell you what happened to us. You need to know this, since everybody else hates talking about it."

Taehyung was torn between helping Sehun out, and staying with him to hear the story of how Exo lost its previous members.

_Where's his watch?_

"We had twelve people before. Yifan hyung, Zitao, Yixing hyung, and-" his eyes seemed to dim. Taehyung understood how he felt, and he wished he knew how to make the other feel better. "-Luhan. We had split up into two groups of six. Yifan hyung, Zitao, Luhan, Yixing hyung, Jongdae hyung, and Minseok hyung. We were checking out some outlet and they left the rest of us to see what the stores closer to the street had. I remember hearing gunshots and Minseok hyung was covered in blood, telling us to run. Jongdae and Luhan were with him, shooting at something behind them. I was so scared because nobody else came after them."

Sehun paused and put his frail hand on Taehyung's. "I saw Luhan drop to the floor, and lots of blood started to pool around him. Joonmyun hyung stopped me from going back and that's probably the only regret I have about the situation."

"... do you guys know who did it?" Taehyung softly said. He continued to rub Sehun's back and the other slowly nodded at his question.

"Some guys who called themselves 'JYP'."

Taehyung felt his hand stop, his mind freezing up. JYP? There must be hundreds of them! How could the JYP he faintly knew about, just start shooting up Exo and them?

Sehun didn't notice him stop rubbing and continued to ramble. "Months later, we thought we'd never see them again, but they sent some peoplefor 'negotiations'."

_Jackson and them, maybe._

"They said something about working together but of course we didn't want that. They had killed almost half of us for no apparent reason! So, we started shooting at them for no reason other then that they worked with JYP. Chanyeol shot one of them in the head, but we didn't get anybody else. They were quick to leave after that."

_Definitely Jackson and them._

Taehyung pulled back and started to pace around Sehun's bed. JYP, Jackson and the other people in his group with JYP ... what was going on? Jackson had said Exo was dangerous, but he had seen how the guys were. But, Jackson and them were also really cool guys, Yugyeom even giving him some of his food. They even provided Yoongi and them food and shelter! Were any of them really bad or was JYP ...?

"Taehyung?" Sehun's hoarse voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked at the other. Sehun looked tired, but his eyes were still open wide. "Can you- get Kyungsoo?" His eyes closed and he slumped over.

"Sehun!?" Taehyung caught him before he fell off the bed. He gently laid Sehun down before checking his pulse. Taehyung sighed in relief when he felt it, slow and faint, but there. He pressed a chaste kiss on Sehun's forehead before he ran out to find Kyungsoo.

_Don't worry, Sehun. You'll be fine._

-

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Jeongguk skeptically asked. They had been walking for a while and Jeongguk couldn't help but feel like something was ... off.

Jackson nodded and lifted his gun at an approaching zombie. He shot, the suppressor on his SIG 516 making the usually loud gunfire become silent. "Yeah, we're definitely going in the right direction." He sent Jeongguk an amused smile. "What, you gettin' scared?"

Jeongguk scoffed. "Puh-lease. Me? I'm a total badass, why would I get scared?"

Jimin laughed at their exchange. "You two are total losers!"

Yugyeom gave a faint smile before he lifted his own gun, an AR15 that Jeongguk wanted to shoot off at least once. It looked gorgeous and he felt so jealous, his hands itching to get on the deadly weapon.

"Hey guys, more killing zombies, and less gossiping," Yugyeom scolded, shooting a couple round into some zombies that were trying to flank them.

Jackson frowned when he saw many of them start to circle around them. "What the- this is strange. Zombies usually aren't smart enough to surround us."

Jimin cut down a zombie that had strayed out to far from the others. "Are they getting smarter then? Or- wait, check that one out!" He pointed at a zombie that was watching them.

It was crouched on the hood of a car, making loud noises and grunts. Every time it let out some sound, the other zombies shifted around them. What was most recognizable though, was its eyes. They were a striking red, and they seemed to understand what was going on around them.

"That zombie has the same eyes like the one who almost killed Taehyung!" Jeongguk hissed. He looked like he was about to go after it, but the zombies closing in on them obviously prevented him from doing so.

"I've never seen that before," Jackson's face looked annoyed as he pointed his gun at the unusual zombie. "But like hell I'm gonna let some freak and his buddies do me in while I'm tryin' to go save a friend."

"Let's just kill first and talk later," Jeongguk grunted as he started to hit more and more zombies.

Jackson laughed and shot in the zombie leader's direction. As if it already knew what Jackson was gonna do, it dodged the shots and rolled off the car, its screeches getting more aggressive.

"Guys, this isn't really looking good," Jimin hit another zombie, just barely avoiding another one's outstretched hand. "They seem to be pushing us in even more!" And he was right. Jimin and Yugyeom's backs pressed against each other, and they were forced away from Jackson and Jeongguk.

"Jimin! Yugyeom!" Jeongguk yelled. He tried to break through the zombies, but they wouldn't stop coming at him. "Jackson, we need to take out that lead zombie, now!"

"I know," Jackson quickly reloaded and his empty clip fell to the ground.

"I need you to cover me, since the only way to properly kill that zombie is to completely destroy its head," Jeongguk started towards the zombie leader's direction. "Can you do that?"

"No prob. Just hurry."

Jeongguk let out a shaky breath and charged into the zombies, his bat knocking down three of them at once. In his peripheral vision he saw a zombie reach out for him, but it fell down before it could even reach him.

_Good old Jackson._

Zombie bodies started to pile around him, and if Jeongguk wasn't so intent on killing this smart-ass zombie leader, he probably would've passed out from all the wretched smells that were emanating from the zombie's corpses.

"Reloading!" Jackson yelled.

Jeongguk swung his bat and two zombies dropped immediately. He saw another coming from the side and since he couldn't bring his bat up in time, he stepped forward, lifted his leg, rotated his body while pivoting his hips, and did a round house kick that connected with the fucker's head. Jeongguk felt, as well as heard, its skull cave in and as he spun back into his original position, he saw that the force of his kick had knocked the zombie into other ones behind it.

"Dude, you gotta teach me that!" Jackson let out an amazed laugh as he went back to shooting.

Finally, Jeongguk broke through and saw the zombie leader on all fours, hissing at him.

"Well, fuck you too."

As Jeongguk approached it, the zombie looked back and forth before it started to run away. Jeongguk sprinted after it, because there was no way in hell that he was gonna let that bastard get away. Once he got closer, he threw his bat at its head and the zombie crumpled to the ground, stunned.

Not knowing when it would wake, and his bat had rolled away a bit too far, he decided to stomp the heel of his shoe into its face. Jeongguk kept at it even when he felt its face cave in, blood splattering everywhere. He didn't let up until he felt his hatred for it seep away into the ground, like its revolting reddish brown blood.

"Jeongguk!" He heard Jimin yell. Jeongguk looked around and when he spotted them, he noticed that the zombies around them had gotten increasingly slower. There was also less of them, the others probably having killed them while Jeongguk was finishing off their leader. He picked up his bat and jogged back to them, only killing one zombie on the way.

" _Mad props bro_ ," Jackson said in what Jeongguk assumed was English.

He gave him an awkward smile and nodded. "Uh, _thank you, bro_?" Jeongguk winced at his broken English while the others laughed.

"Wait," Jimin said a couple of minutes later when they started to walk again. His hand pointed in a direction, causing everybody to look at whatever he was pointing at. "Isn't that fencewall?"

Yugyeom let out a confused noise. "What's a fencewall?"

Jeongguk laughed as he pushed Jimin along. "Our old base. As you can see, Jimin and Taehyung weren't very creative with nicknames."

"Shut up," Jimin grumbled. He let Jeongguk push him as Yugyeom and Jackson caught up to them. "Do you think Taehyung saw fencewall too?"

"Maybe, I don't know," Jeongguk shrugged. "Let's ask him when we find him, okay?"

Jimin sighed. "Yeah, let's."

_If we find him._

-

"Is Kyungsoo here?" Taehyung was panting from how hard he ran, sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Chanyeol let out a happy noise and went to hug Taehyung. He stopped when he saw the serious look on Taehyung's face. "He went to go get some food for Sehun. Why, is something wrong?"

Taehyung groaned as he grabbed his hair in frustration. "Can't you contact him or something? Oh, use your watch!" Chanyeol gave him a weird look but listened to him nonetheless. He pressed a few buttons on his watch and Taehyung saw the lights on it flicker from yellow to green. Chanyeol waited a bit and the light on his watch turned blue.

"Message got through, and Kyungsoo should be coming any minute."

"That was ... weirdly cool, and I'm not sure I understood anything you did," Taehyung said as he continued to stare at Chanyeol's watch.

"Why do you need Kyungsoo so desperately?" Baekhyun asked. The others had gathered around him and he saw that someone new was with them.

"Minseok-ssi?" Taehyung asked, making sure to bow properly. The man had cat-like eyes and his lips were quirked up in an amused smile. He nodded and bowed back.

"Hellooo?" Jongdae gave him an expectant look, obviously impatient. "What went down? Who's dying? Fuck, did Sehun pass out again?" When Taehyung nodded, everybody let out a collective sigh.

"Um, there was also a lot of blood that he coughed up and I'm not sure, but is that supposed to happen ...?"

At that everybody grew silent. Nobody moved for a while, and Taehyung wished that Kyungsoo would hurry up and get there already.

"I should probably check on him as well," Minseok finally said. His voice was neutral, and nobody disagreed with his statement.

Kyungsoo finally appeared, his cheeks flushed red and his breathing labored. "What happened?"

"Sehun," Taehyung answered.

Kyungsoo nodded and was just about to leave when all of their watches started to flicker with all different kinds of colors.

"Shit," Baekhyun cursed, all of them already pressing button after button.

"What, what's going?" Taehyung got even more anxious when nobody immediately responded to his inquiries.

"Taehyung, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo," Minseok looked at them, his face set and his tone completely composed and commanding. "You guys go and get Sehun. Make sure to protect him, and yourselves. Chanyeol, make sure that you guys go to our safety room, okay?" Chanyeol and Kyungsoo nodded while Taehyung stood there in confused silence.

"Everybody else with me. C'mon!" He jogged out of the store, the others following him. Taehyung watched them go and heard Chanyeol move things around in the background.

"What's happening?" Taehyung asked Kyungsoo. The older was getting something from behind the counter and he spared Taehyung a quick glance.

"What's happening, my precious Taehyung," Chanyeol interrupted, and Taehyung's eyes widened at the Remington in his hands. "Is that something, or somebody, has infiltrated our mall."

Taehyung's mouth fell open, a bunch of garbled nonsense spilling out. Chanyeol put his hand under Taehyung's mouth and pushed it up gently.

"Taehyunnie, I know I'm devilishly handsome, but please. I'll give you my autograph later, so let's hurry up and get Sehun."

Kyungsoo snorted and Taehyung gasped at the SIGM400 the older was holding. "Yeah, we better hurry so nothing happens to him if whatever intruded breaks through Minseok hyungs defense."

Taehyung followed after them once he got his bat,  and he couldn't help the spark of fear that ignited in his stomach. As they were descending the elevator, Taehyung felt like someone was watching him. He slowed down, making sure to look around for anything that seemed suspicious. Nothing did.

Apparently he had stopped, and Kyungsoo started scolding Taehyung, telling him to hurry up. Taehyung looked around one last time before deciding he was just paranoid.

_But really, I hope nothing goes wrong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ASDFGHJKL TaeTaeCrazed, ohmygosh thank you for your sweet comments! XD I'm so glad you like it! And yes, Exo isn't bad, they just ... do stuff to protect themselves from a certain evil. (I feel like I said too much lol)  
> Jee and inspiritcassiexoxo, thank you for commenting again! :) I just, reading your guys' comments gives me life, and they make me super happy to know somebody's reading this ... fanfic. THANK YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!!! :DDDD
> 
> P.S. inspiritcassiexoxo, Sehun is also my bias from Exo! ^-^ But although I say that, I'd like to apologize in advance for the next chapter ... DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late, I know. I'm still trying to improve my writing and be more descriptive. Sorrry

"Sehun, Sehun!" Kyungsoo shook Sehun's body, but the younger wasn't responding. He let out a frustrated noise before he looked up at Taehyung. "Tae, I'm gonna need you to carry Sehun along. Can you do that?"

Taehyung nodded, already putting his bat away. "Definitely."

Okay, so Taehyung wasn't exactly super strong like Jimin, but he had _some_ muscle. He put his arms under Sehun's body and picked him up bridal style.

"Fu- woah!"

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at his exclamation.

"Heh," Taehyung sheepishly laughed as he readjusted Sehun. Oh god, was that drool? "Just- he's a tab bit heavier than I thought he'd be."

"You guys ready to move?" Chanyeol called from the front of the store. Taehyung saw him glance from them, to the area outside of the shop.

Kyungsoo gave Taehyung another tentative look. "... yeah, we're ready."

Going up the escalators while holding an unconscious body proved to be pretty difficult, and Taehyung was regretting every step he took. "My baaack."

"You're still young," Chanyeol teased as he looked around. "Just walk it off!"

"Where are we even going?" Taehyung grunted when they started to climb another fucking elevator. Like, what the hell? Where was this 'safe place' anyways? Up a couple more flights and a leap to the moon?

Taehyung heard Kyungsoo sigh behind him. "There's a control room in the third floor by Macy's. That's our 'safe room'. Now stop complaining and move your lazy ass."

Chanyeol let out a laugh while Taehyung grumbled a few choice words under his breath. "I'm so under appreciated."

More agonizing steps later, they finally reached the third floor. They walked and Taehyung glanced down to see if he could pick up what was happening below. He let out a disappointed grunt when nothing but faint shouting reached his ear. There was also a tinge of fear, but he ignored that.

_Can't be scared in the face of danger, Tae._

Macy's came into view, and so did a small secluded hallway. Chanyeol headed in the direction of the hallway and disappeared from sight. Taehyung groaned and fixed Sehun's body again because he wouldn't stop slipping out of his grasp.

"Dude, you need to- wait. You're already like, super skinny. Why the hell are you still so fucking heavy?"

Sehun just let out a breathy noise, followed by his face contorting rather unattractively.

"Yeah, I take back what I said. We'll get you lots of twinkies and shit. Yum yum for the tum tum."

Taehyung looked back and saw Kyungsoo give him a judging look. He was just about to stick his tongue out in response, but a blur of something from the corner of his eye stopped him. After checking around to see if the blur would come back, which it didn't, he started after Chanyeol again.

"Hyung," he whispered to Chanyeol who was unlocking the steel door of the safety room. There was a one-way mirror next to the door and Taehyung wondered if it was breakable. Hopefully not. "I think something's following us."

The door swung open, creaking rather loudly. Chanyeol looked back at him and Taehyung felt his heart drop at the amount of doubt on his face. "Don't worry Tae, that's why we're hiding out here for now."

"Get in," Kyungsoo gently pushed Taehyung inside.

The room wasn't much. There was a cot, broken glass from the TV monitors littering the ground, and a porn magazine he had seen Chanyeol hastily hide away.

Taehyung carefully laid Sehun down on the cot. The other just winced and shifted for a while before he stopped moving, the slight movement of his chest showing that he was still breathing.

"I have some pills for him to take," Kyungsoo started, already moving to Sehun's side. "But the thing is, they're very strong and he already took them about an hour ago. If he takes more, who knows what aftereffects he'd have."

"So, what? We watch him wither away until he's ready to pop some more pills?" Taehyung groaned out, slamming his fist into the wall.

"Calm down," Chanyeol wrapped his arms around him, rocking them back and forth slightly. "He'll get better, okay? We just have to be patient."

Taehyung gave a resigned nod. "I know, it just sucks that he has to go through all this shit. I just want- is that an elevator door?"

He wiggled out of Chanyeol's grip and walked to the wall opposite of the door they came in. "It really is!"

It was rusty, but there were the two doors, the crack a brownish-red from rust. Taehyung ran his hand over it before he tried to pry it open with his fingers. He grunted from exertion and gave up when the door didn't budge an inch. "Well, that was a lot harder then I thought it'd be."

He glanced back, sending Chanyeol an exasperated look. Chanyeol laughed and rolled his eyes at him. "No duh. And actually, that's our escape if any zombies break into this cramped room." He went by the TV monitors and crouched down, sifting through the broken glass fir something. He let out a happy little noise that Taehyung didn't know a human could produce.

What a weird hyung.

Chanyeol turned around and Taehyung saw that he had picked up a crowbar. He shuffled out of the way and was awed at how easily Chanyeol pried the the doors open with his new found tool.

"You're really strong, hyung!"

Chanyeol looked at him in surprise before he flashed him a bright smile. "Of course I am!" He flexed his arm dramatically. "Look at these puppies. Hey, have you ever seen me wrestle a bear? 'Cause I did. Wrestle a bear, that is. In the woods. To death. It died."

Kyungsoo let out a snort and Taehyung couldn't help but join in. "Shut up, Chanyeol. That was such a bad lie and I'm so embarrassed for you even if you're not."

"Whatever, Kyungsoo. You guys don't have to believe me, but just know that it happened. I fucking killed a bear and Baekhyun can attest to that!"

As Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were arguing over the validity of Chanyeol's statement, Taehyung decided to check the elevator shaft. There was no elevator, so Taehyung assumed it was stalled on the bottom floor. The cords were dangling from the top and Taehyung extended his arm to try to touch it.

_Too far._

He shifted a little closer, glancing at his hyungs to see if they were paying attention to him and his dangerous(ly stupid) actions.

They weren't.

Cautiously, he stepped on a ridge and leaned further in. There it was! Teasing his fingers, slipping just out of reach. Only ... a bit more ... to go.

"Got it!" He whispered triumphantly. Taehyung's heart was rapidly beating, his breath quickening as he looked down into the pitch blackness that seemed to never end.

_Imagine if you just let go of the wall. Let go and just- fell._

"Nah, m'good."

Taehyung pulled back, letting the cords slip from his fingers. He exited and looked over at his friends who were _still_ arguing.

"Like hell you took down a liger!" Chanyeol pointed an accusatory finger at Kyungsoo. His cheeks were red from how much they'd been going at it and Taehyung wondered when they would give up their ridiculous tryst.

"Wow, is this what it feels like to be an adult?" Taehyung loudly said.

Kyungsoo sputtered something that Taehyung couldn't quite catch. He coughed and pointedly smoothed out his shirt. "Chanyeol, no. End of discussion."

Taehyung laughed as Chanyeol just stood in shock at being completely shot down.

"Fuck you, I'm still taller!"

In that moment, Taehyung experienced true fear when he saw the look that took over Kyungsoo's face.

And that was the first time Taehyung heard Chanyeol scream like a preteen girl.

-

"What the hell are these things?" Baekhyun growled at nobody in particular.

They'd been shooting at these red eyed zombies for a while, but none of them were dying. Baekhyun was reloading his UZI when he looked over their barricade to see even more -red and redless eyed- zombies coming further into their mall.

"Minseok hyung!" Jongdae yelled. "These zombies with red eyes are all just dodging our bullets! Guns are totally ineffective against them and we're just wasting precious ammunition!"

"I can see that," Minseok strained out. The older perched his AK-74 on a bench and started pelting the incoming zombies with bullets. As Jongdae had said, all the red eyed monsters managed to avoid the little iron pellets of death while the regular (as regular as you could get) ones dropped to the floor.

_What the fuck is going on? Why are they so smart!?_

"Change of plans," Minseok shouted. "Baekhyun and Jongin, I want you guys to shoot every redless zombie you see. If a red comes at you, you're gonna have to take 'em down manually. Me, Joonie, and Jongdae'll take out most of the reds so you can take care of the, uh, _normal_ ones."

Baekhyun nodded and nudged Jongin. "Yah, give me a scope. I don't wanna accidentally shoot them just in case."

Jongin fumbled with the backpack on his back before he placed a small scope in Baekhyun's open hand. As Baekhyun was strapping the scope on, he looked up and saw Minseok and the others on the move.

Minseok had unsheathed his trusty tomahawk and Baekhyun watched him take down a red that had been creeping dangerously close to them.

"For Exo!" He yelled, already yankinghis weapon out of the red's head.

The rest of them cheered as well, already following their leader and attacking red's and supposedly regular zombies altogether.

"For Exo!"

-

"Chanyeol hyung, you're okay," Taehyung repeated for the umpteenth time. He was patting said hyungs back to comfort and ease the pain Chanyeol had been feeling. The older had been sitting in the corner for the last ten minutes just rocking back and forth, whispering stuff into the wall.

"I'm never gonna have kids, ever," Chanyeol's voice was muffled since he was talking into his knees.

"Now, now, he didn't kick you _that_ hard."

Chanyeol stopped rocking and sent him a glare. "Don't defend that evil midget. I'm never gonna have sex again!"

"As if you got laid in the first place!" Kyungsoo yelled from his corner. He let out a _ooh, burn!_ and Taehyung had to turn away so Chanyeol wouldn't see him laugh.

"You really are satan."

Taehyung gave Chanyeol one last pat on the head before he went to the TV monitors for science. He prodded at the screens, but some just stayed fuzzy while others were just off.

"Kyungsoo hyung," he called out as he slightly poked at a dead bug with a broken shard of glass.

_Probably shouldn't do that._

"Do any of these things work, or all they all out of order?"

Taehyung heard Kyungsoo's footsteps and felt him brush up next to him. "None of them work. When we got here and investigated, we figured some dumbass just destroyed all the cameras." He pointed at one screen that just looked white. "Except for that one. We don't know where that camera is, and we never found that room."

They watched the blank screen for a couple of seconds, but nothing happened. "That's weird, and really creepy."

Kyungsoo shrugged. "What can I say? This mall's pretty suspicious. Just kidding, I don't even know what the fuck's goin' on anymore." He sighed and walked back to Sehun's still unconscious body.

Once again bored, Taehyung decided to press some buttons on the little TV's and switched from one blurry screen to another. He did this for about five minutes before he saw something flicker on the white screen.

"What ...?"

Taehyung intensely stared at the white screen, hoping that whatever had entered the room would flash back into view. Seconds passed, and Taehyung's eyes were starting to burn from how long he was keeping them open.

_There! Wait- is that a zombie, or a person!?_

What seemed more like a person had walked into the middle of the room, it's back facing the camera, and Taehyung felt a shiver of fear run throughout his body.

"Hyungs," he whispered. Chanyeol grumbled something incoherent while Kyungsoo let out a simple _what_. "There's a person in the white room."

Immediately he heard scuffling and two bodies were pressing against him. Chanyeol's eyes were a bit red, but other then that his face looked fine. Kyungsoo looked just as shocked as Taehyung felt.

"What the- nobody could find that room!" Kyungsoo's lips were pulled down in a frown, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How on earth would a zombie get there?"

"Is it a zombie?" Chanyeol asked. "Look, it's standing perfectly straight! It even has long hair and seems to be wearing a skirt! Maybe it- she's a survivor?"

"But-" Kyungsoo's retort was cut off by his gasp, the others following his example.

The person had turned around and Taehyung couldn't believe his eyes. It was a zombie! It had bright red eyes like the one at the pond, but its appearance was completely different.

It's- Her face was flawless, no disfigurement on it at all. She had full red lips and a small button nose that reminded him of a model. Her long black hair was framing her face and Taehyung saw her look around before her eyes found the camera. She slowly stalked forward to the camera, a slow smile stretching across her lips. What scared him the most, though, was that he knew he had seen this woman before, but he didn't exactly remember where from. 

"Holy fuck, what the hell is she looking at?" Chanyeol whispered. "She's too pretty to be a zombie! I mean, have you looked at one of them? They're fugly as hell! And- wait, she looks ..."

The lady squinted at the camera, and waved at them. She stood on her tippy toes so that her lips were more noticeable.

"Is she trying to tell us something?" Kyungsoo mumbled thoughtfully. "There's no audio, so the only way we'd understand what she has to say is by reading her lips."

Taehyung stepped back in horror. "How would she know that we don't have audio, hyung?"

As he thought, Kyungsoo didn't answer him. Taehyung looked at the screen and somehow, he knew what she was trying to tell them.

**Baekhyun, we're coming, and father isn't happy. Can you protect Taehyung now?**

"What the hell?" Taehyung shook his head in disbelief. "How would this bitch know my brother? And why is she talking about me!?"

"She looks a lot like ..." Chanyeol trailed off. "But, would he actually do that to his daughter?"

Taehyung and Kyungsoo stared at Chanyeol as if he'd just grown a second head.

"Chanyeol," Kyungsoo slowly enunciated. "You know this woman, _and_ her father?"

Chanyeol absently nodded. "Yeah, she's JYP's daughter, Suzy."

Taehyung's jaw dropped open and fuck, this wasn't how things were supposed to turn out!

"JYP's was a loan shark, y'know," Chanyeol continued. He was moving around, his gun in hand. He started pulling out gloves from his backpack. "Baekhyun's dad ... well, he loaned more then he should have, and couldn't pay it back. So, JYP threatened Baekhyun to get the money to pay him back or Taehyung was gonna suffer the consequences."

_Is this what Baekhyun meant?_

"Look, I gotta go tell Baekhyun about this," Chanyeol looked at both of them. "Kyungsoo, take care of these two and if anything happens, escape as fast as you can." He briefly hugged both of them and just as quickly left, the steel door slamming shut behind him.

Kyungsoo was still, as if he couldn't believe Chanyeol just left them when Minseok had told them to stick together. And even worse, there was a female zombie who didn't look like she was fucking around, who was after Taehyung _and_ Baekhyun.

_Fan-fucking-tastic._

"He- but Minseok hyung- oh my fucking god," Kyungsoo groaned.

Taehyung looked back at the screen, but Suzy was already long gone. The only thing left on the screen was a red lipstick stain that she probably left behind.

_Holy crap, an advanced zombie is after me and Baekhyun. Why does all the bad shit happen to us!? Good for nothing dad, always getting us into some twisted shit!_

"Hyung, do you think she's coming after me, or Baekhyun hyung?" Taehyung was in full panic mode, and Chanyeol leaving them didn't exactly put them in a good position if she was going after him first.

Kyungsoo was pacing around the room, running his fingers through his hair every couple seconds. "I don't know. She didn't specify who she was going after so if she's after-"

"Hyung?" Sehun's sleepy voice interrupted.

Disregarding their earlier conversation, both Kyungsoo and Taehyung rushed to the now awake patient.

"Sehun, are you okay?" Kyungsoo gently pressed a hand against Sehun's head.

All Sehun did was nod. He slowly blinked, noticing Taehyung. "Ah, Taetae. When did you get here? I thought Baekhyun hyung said you were in a safe place, far away from here."

Taehyung hesitantly shook his head. He crouched down and propped his chin on Sehun's knee. "Nah, I'm still here. Not so safe, is it?"

Sehun let out a hoarse laugh. "Not at all. Hey, what's that lady doing to the window?"

Kyungsoo tilted his head. "Lady? There's no ...?" He and Taehyung followed Sehun's line of sight and both of them froze.

There, in front of the mirror, was Suzy in all her devastating beauty. She was looking around before her gaze finally stopped on them- no, on _Taehyung_.

"I'm sorry, but would you please come out?" Her charming voice rang out. It was scary how clear her voice sounded even though they were far away. The window didn't even seem to block her voice.

Kyungsoo was already frantically pressing buttons on his watch. "Taehyung, put the gloves on, _now_."

Not even questioning Kyungsoo, Taehyung quickly got up and started to slip the gloves on. He put on his backpack that he had taken off earlier and saw that Kyungsoo was getting his gun.

"Please come out," Suzy's voice sounded out again. Taehyung looked up and saw a pout on her face. She would've looked cute if her glowing red eyes didn't obviously hint at her being something other than human. "Don't make this difficult."

"Put Sehun on your back and slide down the cord," Kyungsoo said, his gun pointed at a now frowning Suzy.

"Is she bad?" Sehun commented. "Oh, she's a zombie. A very ... pretty zombie? That's new."

Taehyung now had to take off his backpack, albeit a bit angrily because he had just put it on. Whatever, dying was definitely worse.

"Sehun, put my backpack on and get on my back," Taehyung tried to put his backpack on Sehun's back, but the other pushed him away. "Sehun, I'm not playing!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here and there's nothing you or Kyungsoo hyung can do about it."

Taehyung looked at Sehun incredulously. "What, you don't want to leave? Why?"

"Go with him, Sehun!" Kyungsoo yelled.

Suzy was now pressing her fingers on three spots of the glass. "Here, here, and here." She stepped back and snapped her fingers, the serene smile she had never leaving her face.

"Fuck!" Taehyung and Kyungsoo yelled in unison when a whole bunch of zombies from no where suddenly stormed at the window, cracks already appearing on the glass.

"I'll distract them," Sehun softly said. "I know I'm a burden, but it's better that you two escape without me holding you down."

"No," Kyungsoo firmly replied. "You're going with Taehyung and that's final!"

"Kyungsoo hyung, I'm sorry."

Taehyung was about to ask why but he backed up when he saw Sehun had a fucking pistol in his hand. How the hell did he not feel that when he was bringing the other up the escalators?

"Sehun," Kyungsoo's voice broke, his own gun lowering. "Don't. Please."

The cracks in the glass grew, some pieces already falling out. Suzy was no longer visible, the hideous deformed zombies blocking her from view.

Sehun put the second pair of gloves into Kyungsoo's hands as well as his backpack, making sure to shove him and Taehyung into the direction of the elevator. The crowbar was still keeping the doors open and Taehyung understood what Sehun wanted to do.

"If you haven't jumped by the time I've counted to three, then I'm pushing you off."

"I hate you so much," Kyungsoo whispered, his eyes shining.

"One."

Kyungsoo put his gun in his backpack and started to slip the gloves on.

"Two."

"Jongin'll be devastated." And those were the last words Kyungsoo said before Sehun slowly pushed him into the elevator shaft.

"Three."

Sehun had given Kyungsoo enough time to jump. Taehyung heard the friction of Kyungsoo's gloves on the cord fade into the abyss.

The glass broke, and Taehyung saw the zombies already start spilling into the room. Suzy's desperate shouts were easily heard over the animalistic grunts of the zombies.

"Quickly!" Sehun said, slightly but hurriedly pushing Taehyung into the darkness as well.

"I love you, Sehunnie," Taehyung whispered, pressing a hurried kiss to Sehun's cheek before he jumped after Kyungsoo.

_You wouldn't leave someone you loved, would you?_

Apparently Taehyung did, because this wasn't his first time.

_And it probably won't be your last._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR KILLING SEHUN!! Honestly, I planned a brutal death where Taehyung would witness some shit and be traumatized but that (unfortunately) did not happen.
> 
> Oh well.
> 
> And once again, thank you to TaeTaeCrazed, inspiritcassiexoxo, Jelinsugar, and dfgh for their lovely comments! *throws flowers* Wheeeeeeee~!


	10. Chapter 10

The zombies, red and regulars, were starting to thin out, and for that Baekhyun was grateful. The only thing concerning him now was Chanyeol. He had come running dowm the escalator, his sudden appearance scaring Baekhyun and Jongin.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Baekhyun hissed at him. He waved at Jongin to keep shooting and pulled Chanyeol aside. "Why'd you leave Tae and Soo?"

"Suzy's here, and she has red eyes, and she's still coming after you."

Baekhyun's mouth opened in a small 'o'. He felt his thoughts scatter and he felt his lips move, but no sound came out.

"Also, JYP's kind of crazy and wants to kill you, and I guess us as well."

"Fucking go back and protect Taehyung!" Baekhyung finally yelled. "I'm safe with Minseok hyung and them, but all Tae has is Kyungsoo and sick, vulnerable Sehun!" As he was about to continue to scold Chanyeol, their watches flashed between red and white. Baekhyun froze and he saw Chanyeol's face pale.

"Chanyeol, Baekhyun, go!" Minseok yelled. He looked angry, but had the situation (relatively) under control. "We're fine here, go check on Kyungsoo!"

They ran up to the third floor, both of them silent the entire time. When they reached the room, Baekhyun let out a noise of frustration at the sight. The window was broken, and some zombies were lying on the ground. Baekhyun shot a couple lives ones and looked inside.

"Oh my god," he whispered, causing Chanyeol to rush to his side.

Next to the elevator was a body, a couple zombies hunched over it as they audibly chewed on something. The only thing he saw, that he recognized, was the blond hair that was strewn about.

Baekhyun turned away to wipe away stray tears as Chanyeol took out every zombie in the room.

"You fucking sick bastards," he heard Chanyeol curse, grief in his voice. 

After Chanyeol had finished shooting, Baekhyun stood there a couple seconds longer. He calmed his breathing and counted down from one hundred. At forty three he stopped and forced himself to enter the room.

Chanyeol strolled passed him to examine the body. "... it's definitely Sehunnie ..."

They were both quiet for a while, still processing the situation. Baekhyun shook off the nerves and negativity that was starting to overwhelm him.

_We have to find Taehyung and Kyungsoo. They're the top priority now. Sehun, may you rest in peace._

"We'll cremate him later," Baekhyun's voice shook a bit and he hated how unsure he sounded. "Right now, we need to find Taehyung and Kyungsoo."

Chanyeol let out a sigh, but nodded nonetheless. "They probably went down the elevator shaft. It leads down to the basement, but the elevator's blocking that exit. They must've gone out onto the first floor." Chanyeol patted the metal doors that were closed, scratch marks littering both sides. "Since these doors are still closed, I guess Suzy took a detour."

"We better hurry," Baekhyun said, resisting the urge to look at Sehun's scattered remains. "Maybe they regrouped with Minseok hyung."

Chanyeol gave a slight nod. His cheeks were shiny with wiped away tears and Baekhyun knew better than to point out his friend's red rimmed eyes.

"Hopefully they did," Chanyeol started walking to the exit. "And if they didn't, let's hope Suzy didn't get to them first."

Baekhyun let out a noise of agreement as he followed after the taller man. Chanyeol had only taken two steps out the door before he was suddenly kicked back into the wall, taking Baekhyun by surprise. He saw an extended foot and noticed the person that had impressively thrown Chanyeol back was wearing heels. Baekhyun felt concern when he didn't hear Chanyeol scream from pain or yell for help.

"Sorry about that," a sooth, feminine voice trilled out. The foot lowered and Baekhyun backed into the room, his UZI raised, as Suzy of all things, walked in with an apologetic smile on her face. "Why, hello Baekhyun! Long time no see from my, _favorite_ client. How have you been?"

When Suzy was only met by silence, she let out a small tut of disapproval. "Now, now, no need to glare at me like that. I came for your brother, but some problems arose." She waved a hand at where Sehun's ravaged body was. "Of course, Daddy's pets were happy at that, but as you can see, I'm not."

"Fuck off bitch!" Baekhyun yelled in spite. "Sehun shouldn't have died like that, and it's all your fault! You and you're greedy dad are real pieces of work, you fucking know that!?"

Suzy's smile faltered a bit, but came back in full force as she took more steps in his direction. "I see time hasn't changed that wretched attitude of yours."

Baekhyun lowered his gun and spit in her direction, his eyes never leaving hers. Her smile vanished, and he felt his head reel back, pain sparking in his nose as she punched him square in the face.

"Now," her voice came out cold and commanding, as if her sympathy from kicking Chanyeol earlier had never existed. "Before you act out again, I need to discuss a few things with you."

Baekhyun wiped his nose and winced at the amount of blood on his hand. He swished the saliva and blood in his mouth before spitting it out. The metallic taste left behind made him want to throw up. "What the hell do you want? Money's useless now, y'know."

She laughed, causing a chill to go through him. When her laughter subsided, Baekhyun saw her smile. It wasn't her usual polite smile, and that made worry course through him.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Byunnie."

 

-

 

"Kyungsoo hyung, where the hell are we going?" Taehyung panted out as they passed by another shop. "Shouldn't we have reached Minseok hyung by now? I mean, I know this mall's big and all, but where the hell are they?"

There were no zombies ahead or behind them, and that was the only thing going for them after everything that had happened. The last ten minutes had been spent opening the first floor elevator doors and running around like headless chickens looking for Minseok and the others.

"We should have," Kyungsoo answered, the frustration in his voice evident. "Either they're dead, or I mistaked east for west again. Damn it, I did, didn't I? Fuck."

Taehyung rolled his eyes and lowered himself onto the ground, sprawling his limbs in every direction. He watched Kyungsoo mess around with his watch, a tired laugh leaving his lips whenever the older muttered something under their breath.

"This is Exo's mall right?" A distorted voice rang out a ways from them, causing Taehyung and Kyungsoo to freeze up a bit before quickly finding cover in a shop.

It was a musty shop with trinkets and wooden statutes that were hideous. Taehyung voiced out his opinion of the ugly items only for Kyungsoo to hit him and tell him to shut up and stop endangering their lives with his incessant chatter.

"Puh-lease, hyung, these things are endangering my eyes."

All that earned was another smack in the arm. Although Taehyung said that, he quieted down when he heard the footsteps come closer. People were talking, and by the sound of it, there were a lot of them.

"You think they ditched this place?" The serious voice sounded familiar to Taehyung, but he couldn't quite place it. "I mean, it doesn't seem very easy to protect."

Taehyung shifted and he accidentally inhaled some dust. His head tilted back, and Kyungsoo quickly placed his hand over Taehyung's mouth.

Bad idea.

When Taehyung sneezed, he fell back and knocked over a shelf of creepy looking statues. Kyungsoo cursed, already forcing Taehyung up and heading to the side of the shop. The voices had gone quiet, but Taehyung heard their footsteps increase rapidly.

"Hurry up!" Kyungsoo muttered. "We're gonna have to run out of here and just hope that they don't catch up to us." He lifted his shirt and pulled a small container that was clipped to his belt.

"What's that?" Taehyung asked as Kyungsoo pulled him to the side of the shop.

"Flash grenade."

Before Taehyung could ask where the hell Kyungsoo obtained a flash grenade from, the people's footsteps stopped in front of the shop. Taehyung couldn't see them, but Kyungsoo managed a peek at them.

"Shit, it's JYP's guys again," Kyungsoo scowled. "Why the hell didn't my watch go off?" He stepped back to get a better throw, his fingers already starting to pull the pin. He waited a bit, then threw the flash grenade at the strangers. Kyungsoo forced Taehyung to turn around so he wouldn't get blinded, but the loud pop from the flash grenade still made his ears ring.

Faintly, he heard the guys coughing and swearing as Kyungsoo pulled him along. They ran out, the intruders all waving their guns around but nobody started shooting. Taehyung didn't get a good look at their faces since Kyungsoo was in his way and they were all waving their hands in front of them.

"That's right, get flashed!" Taehyung yelled back at them, a laugh bubbling up in his chest.

They were about three shops away when Taehyung heard one of them yell something that made him stop.

"Is that you Taehyung!?"

Kyungsoo yanked him forward, an exasperated look on his face. "Taehyung, if we don't get moving, they're gonna catch up to us!"

"Jimin," Taehyung whispered. He wrentched his arm out of Kyungsoo's grasp and ran back. Taehyung ignored the older's pleas for him to stop and ran faster.

"JIMIIIIIIIN!"

-

"Good job you guys," Minseok smiled at his friends. Jongdae was leaning on him, the sweat on his body making Minseok's nose wrinkle in disgust.

"Easy peasy, right?" Joingin joked, giving Minseok a wry smile. The younger squatted over a dead zombie, prodding its clothes with his gun. "Ah, nothing on 'im. Not even a- oh, nevermind."

Joonmyun laughed when Jongin slipped off a plain, gold ring off the man's fingers.

"I don't think that'll fit on your finger, Jongin," Jongdae blandly said. He pushed himself off of Minseok and placed his foot on Jongin's back. Before Jongin could get up, Jongdae pushed him over. Minseok quietly laughed at the action while Joonmyun started to scold Jongdae and help Jongin up.

"Asshole," Baekhyun's voice called out from behind Minseok. All of them looked back at them and they quickly rushed over to him when they saw Chanyeol limply hanging from his side.

"What happened?" Minseok asked as he took Chanyeol from Baekhyun and gently laid him on the ground.

Baekhyun silently stared at Chanyeol as Minseok started to check the taller's pulse and look for any obvious wounds.

"Suzy. That's what happened."

"Wait a minute," Jongdae interrupted, a confused look on his face. "I thought Suzy was after Taehyung?"

"Well it turned out she was waiting for me and Chanyeol was in her way."

That statement silenced him. They continued to watch Minseok look over Chanyeol, the occasional cough breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure," Minseok started as he got up. "But I think he might have a concussion. He has a big bruise on his back, and his ribs might be cracked. Not broken, thankfully. It's still dangerous though, so he'll have to rest a bit before getting back in action."

A relieved sigh escaped all of them. Chanyeol would live to see another day.

"Hey, what happened to your guns, hyung?" Jongin asked. He saw Baekhyun frown and shake his head.

"The bitch destroyed mine. I put Chanyeol's in my pack," Baekhyun slipped his bag off as he continued to talk in monotone. "Also, sorry for the bluntness, but Sehun's dead."

"I- what?" Jongin gaped.

"Dead. Zombies got to him. Suzy is an everlasting witch that lives to ruin our lives. He was murdered, killed, eaten, torn-"

"Enough!" Minseok's booming voice cut Baekhyun off. "Why are you being like this? Is making Jongin cry your goal, or do you just wanna act like a dick?"

Baekhyun was about to retort on how Jongin was not crying but stopped when he saw the younger was, in fact, crying. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, his eyes seemingly hollow.

"I- I didn't mean to," Baekhyun trailed off, his voice growing soft. Joonmyun gave him a disappointed look as he started to comfort Jongin.

Jongdae snorted, and Baekhyun saw him roll his eyes. "And you said I was the asshole."

Another silence enveloped them as the others came to terms with Sehun's death. Baekhyun berated himself for his insensitivity and sat next to Chanyeol's unconscious body.

"Did you hear that?" Joonmyun piped up. Everybody looked at him, confused.

"Hear what, hyung?" Jongdae looked around. "Nothing seems to be happening."

Joonmyun's lips pulled down in a slight frown. "I thought I heard something ... I guess not."

A couple minutes passed before they heard somebody running to them. Baekhyun looked up and made out Kyungsoo. His bangs were matted to his forehead and he looked troubled.

"Is that Soo?" Minseok murmered. He wiped some blood off of his tomahawk before he re-sheathed it.

Jongdae nodded and started to walk to Kyungsoo, who was starting to slow down.

"Wait, where's Taehyung?" Baekhyun felt panic well up and he ran to meet Kyungsoo. "Where's Taehyung!?"

"Some guys over there!" Came Kyungsoo's labored response. "Human intruders! Tae, he left me after I flashed them. Said he knew the guys! Taehyung's buddy-buddy with JYP's guys!"

Baekhyun nervously bit his bottom lip. He glanced back at Minseok and Chanyeol, indecisive about what he should do next.

_Find Taehyung. After what Suzy said, you can never be sure if he's safe._

"Jongdae, Joonmyun hyung, come with me to get Taehyung," Baekhyun firmly stated, already starting to walk away. He hesistated a bit when he heard Minseok pointedly clear his throat. "Uh, can they please come with me?"

Minseok let out a resigned sigh while nodding his head. "Make sure you guys kill JYP's guys. We don't want another massacre like last time."

Joonmyun was the only who nodded, Baekhyun and Jongdae already leaving the area.

"No prob, boss," Jongdae sarcastically said, mocking a salute. "We'll cleanup Tae's mess, no biggy."

A scoff left Baekhyun's mouth. "And who says it's Tae's problem? For all we know, JYP brainwashed him."

"Highly unlikely," Joonmyun lightly commented when he caught up with them. "The probability of Taehyung coming into contact with JYP is close to about-"

"Nerd!" Jongdae teased. "Not everything's about statistics, hyung."

Joonmyun gave them an unamused look. Baekhyun guessed it was supposed to be threatening, but on Joonmyun's face it just looked like an adorable child pouting when they didn't get what they wanted.

"Besides, we've got nothing to worry about. Tae could have already done the guys in. Finished the job, you could say."

Jongdae's ignorant statement elicited an eye roll from Baekhyun. "Yeah, and you and Joonmyun hyung never get each other off. _Totally_ probable and realistic."

Jongdae shrugged while Joonmyun's face turned a bright pink. "Hey, what can I say? Misery loves company. Or was it, dogs licking each other's wounds?"

"Second one sounds more practical."

Jongdae nodded as Joonmyun made an indignant noise. "True, true. But hey, at least I'm getting some while you're just pining over a certain doe-eyed, introvert."

Baekhyun flipped Jongdae off. "Shut up. We should be saving my brother, not talkling about our sex lives."

"You mean, your nonexistent one?"

At that, Joonmyun laughed. Baekhyun decided that punching Jongdae's arm felt better than flipping him off. "Brother first, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brother first and all that sentimental stuff. To tell you the truth, I feel like we're being a bit too aloof with this. I mean, Tae's all alone with brainwashing JYP guys, Suzy's after him, and _JYP's guys are alone with him_."

"Point taken."

And with that, all three of them started to run and hope that nothing bad happened to Taehyung while they procrastinated.

-

"I can't see, dumbass," Jimin bluntly told Taehyung. Taehyung had waved a couple fingers in front of his friend before realizing that his sight still hadn't come back. At least his hearing did, because now they were no longer screaming at each other. Jackson and Yugyeom were on the floor just waiting for their sight to come back. Jeongguk was a ways off, his back turned from them as he silently contemplated the situation.

Seeing them made Taehyung really happy, but also terribly guilty. He leaned his head on Jimin's shoulder and reveled in the fact that the other didn't pull away. Instead, Jimin started to run his finger's through Taehyung's hair.

"I missed you, even though it's only been two days since I last saw you," Jimin murmered. He slightly turned his body and pressed a light kiss onto Taehyung's head.

Taehyung gave a dry laugh. "I'm surprised you don't hate me. I mean, why wouldn't you after what I did to you guys? I left you, and it wouldn't have been surprising if I didn't return."

He made a move to get up, but Jimin tightly wrapped his arms around Taehyung's torso. "Shut up, Tae. I want you to shut up, and to hug me, and to promise me that you'll never ever leave me again, _ever_. Okay?"

A spiteful laugh from Jeongguk surprised them. "A promise? All Taehyung'll do is break it."

A frown settled on Jimin's face. Taehyung gently pushed Jimin away, making sure that he was no longer in his tight grip. "Yeah Jimin, I'm a backstabbing traitor. Didn't you get the memo?" A sad smile was on his face, and Taehyung was relieved that the other couldn't see it.

Immediately, Jimin started to feel around for Taehyung, a panicked look overtaking his features. "Tae!? Please don't leave, we just found you!"

"I'm not leaving," Taehyung softly said. He cupped Jimin's face and pressed their forehead's together, indirectly telling him that he was there. Jimin calmed down, but his grip on Taehyung's arms seemed to tighten a bit before they loosened. "I just need to talk to Jeongguk, okay?"

Jimin's head tilted a bit before he slowly nodded. Taehyung gradually pulled back, giving Jimin time to let go whenever he was ready. When he finally did let go, Taehyung walked over to Jeongguk and felt his heartbeat escalate. Taehyung lead them away from the other three and the tension between him and Jeongguk was made even more noticeable when neither instantly spoke to the other.

"I," Taehyung's voice cracked. He winced, hoping he didn't embarrass himself any further. "I broke our promise."

Jeongguk didn't interrupt or make any snide remarks yet, so Taehyung decided to continue.

"When Hoseok hyung was talking about the graffiti and the person who made it, and I just knew I had to find him. I really do like you, Jeongguk. I really do-"

"Then why did you leave?" Jeongguk finally interrupted. His intense stare was making Taehyung uncomfortable and he wondered if the younger got his sight back. "Why'd you leave without telling us, without telling me? I would have come with you. I would have stood by you even if Yoongi and the others didn't."

"Your lives shouldn't be risked for this!" Taehyung felt thrilled at Jeongguk's confession, but he didn't feel that he deserved it. He _deserted_ the person who seemed to love him the most and probably ruined their relationship. "I can see why you guys would want to come along, but this- no, _I'm_ not worth all this concern. I'm not-"

Taehyung didn't get to finish his sentence as Jeongguk's lips harshly pressed against his. His lips were chapped and moist and Taehyung felt himself become completely enraptured with the younger's taste. The way Jeongguk seemed to bring Taehyung closer, as if he couldn't get enough of him, made Taehyung feel that maybe Jeongguk forgave him even though he felt that he didn't deserve it.

Jeongguk languidly pulled back, their faces still close enough that their breaths mingled together. "I'll still stand by you," he whispered as his hand came up and tangled itself in Taehyung's hair. "And I never wanna hear you belittle yourself again. Never. Because you, Taehyung," Jeongguk gently pulled Taehyung's head back and pressed kisses against his neck. "Are gorgeous, alluring, exquisite, and nothing short of perfection. So never, _never_ say that you don't deserve anything, because you deserve _everything_."

A gasp escaped Taehyung's lips when Jeongguk's teeth sunk into his neck hard, but not hard enough to draw blood. The younger ran his tongue over the new mark before pulling back, a satisfied smile on his face. "And I, Jeon Jeongguk, will make sure you get everything."

Taehyung felt his face flush and he fumbled around for a response. An endearing smile spread on Jeongguk's face when he saw how adorable his hyung's reaction was. So, instead of waiting for Taehyung to say anything, the other just decided to kiss him again.

"I really, really, _really_ like you," Jeongguk murmered against Taehyung's soft lips, his eyes always meeting Taehyung's even when the older looked away in embarrassment. "And I really want to stay with you. Will you let me?"

If Taehyung wasn't sure about his feelings before, Jeongguk's little speech confirmed it. Taehyung was in love and there was no way he was ever gonna leave Jeongguk again.

"No, will you let me, Byun Taehyung, who has made the terrible mistake of leaving you- _all_ of you, stay by your side?"

If Jeongguk's smile wasn't bright enough already, it was blinding now. And Taehyung never wanted to look away, because Jeongguk was like a light to him. No matter how dark it got, Taehyung always knew that Jeongguk would shine through every dark, horrendous thing that came his way.

"Put your hands up!" A voice yelled and Taehyung felt his heart drop. "If you even reach for your guns, you're dead!"

Jeongguk had already pulled them behind a large advertisement, his arm protectively outstretched in front of Taehyung. "Who's that!?" Taehyung sighed and pushed Jeongguk's arm away.

"That, my dear Kookie, is Baekhyun. My older brother that's in Exo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for comments and I'm sorry, but inspiration is dying and school started up again a while ago so I just wanted to ignore everything and lie down for hours on end. Hope you all like it!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, am sorry. Lack of inspiration and writer's block isn't really helping

In any other situation, Taehyung might have laughed at the comical expression on Jeongguk's face. Baekhyun threatening to kill his best friend and the two guys who had sheltered him for a week and some days? Now that really put things into prospective.

Sort of.

"Your brother's in Exo!?" Jeongguk looked like he was about to pull his hair out and, once again, Taehyung would've laughed in any other predicament.

"Uhhh, just stay here!" Not really waiting for his response, Taehyung fled from the safety of the advertisement only to put his hands up when guns were pointed his way. "Yaaah, no need for murder guys! We- uh, wait. That's um, Jimin and Jackson. The one who's face you're pushing to the floor is Yugyeom."

Joonmyun lowered his gun, his lips pulled down in a frown. Jongdae scoffed and lifted his knee that had been perched on Yugyeom's back.

"Tae," Baekhyun slowly enunciated, talking small deliberate steps in his direction. "These guys work for JYP. Well, maybe not Jimin, but the other two definitely work for him."

Taehyung raised as eyebrow when Baekhyun stopped in front of him. "And?"

Jongdae loudly scoffed. "He asks 'and'? Kid, they killed a lot of our members! Of course we don't like these fuckers!" Yugyeom let out a yelp of pain when Jongdae harshly kicked his stomach.

A blank look overtook Taehyung's face because, oh yeah, Sehun told me about this. How the hell did I forget?

"Leave. Him. Alone!" Jackson growled. His hands were gun free and he kept sending worried glances at Yugyeom.

"What the fuck are you gonna do about it?" Jongdae hissed, making sure to pointedly hit Yugyeom harder. "You gonna apologize or some shit? Well too fucking late, my friends are already dead."

"Calm down, Jongdae," Joonmyun soothingly said. He tried to gently pull Jongdae away, but that just made Jongdae even more angry.

"How can I be calm when Kris, Tao, Luhan, and Yixing hyungs killers are right here!?"

Baekhyun abruptly turned around and went to push Jongdae away. "Go back to Minseok hyung. Tell him things are fine and to send Chanyeol."

Jongdae gave Baekhyun an accusing look. "Are you, _defending_ these monsters? After what they've done to us, and Sehun?"

An irritated look flitted across Baekhyun's face before it went back to impassive. "No, I just don't want you killing them before we get to interrogate them."

Taehyung looked back and saw Jeongguk peeking. Thankfully, nobody was paying attention to their direction so he waved at Jeongguk hoping the other would understand the signal and escape. Cautiously, Taehyung walked over to try and move Jimin away from Baekhyun's line of sight.

"Jiminnie I-"

In a flash, an arm was around Taehyung's neck and he felt the cold press of a gun on the side of his head.

"Taehyung!" Baekhyun yelled, bringing his gun up again.

"Jackson, what are you doing!?" Jeongguk had run out of his hiding spot and visibly surprised Baekhyun and them. "Let go of him!"

A grunt left Taehyung's lips when Jackson started to slowly edge away, yanking him along. "Sorry, 'Jeonggukkie', but bringing Taehyung back alive was never going to happen."

Baekhyun was about to move closer but Jackson cocked his gun, pressing it harder against Taehyung's scalp. All Taehyung felt was a dull throb of pain and the arm around his throat tighten. 

"So, you gonna shoot me or what?" Taehyung's voice came out bored and he saw concerned looks come over his friends faces. "What? He already has a gun to my head, what's the worst he could do? _Shoot_ me?"

"Shut up," Jackson mumbled. He continued to retreat at a slow pace, Taehyung still in tow. "Look, I just want Yugyeom and a way out of this stupid mall. Deal?"

Jongdae hauled Yugyeom up and shoved his gun's muzzle against his throat. "Like hell! I'll kill him right now if you don't let Taehyung go!"

"No!" Baekhyun yelled. "Just- Nobody has to die, okay?"

Jimin shakily got to his feet and made his way to Jeongguk. He sent worried looks to Taehyung who still looked unimpressed.

"What're we gonna do?" He whispered to Jeongguk.

The younger clenched his jaw in frustration. "I- I don't know. We gotta help him, but he could shoot Taehyung at any time."

Even though Taehyung didn't really feel the pain Jackson was inflicting on him, he was scared that a wrong move could set off the gun.

_Of course you have to die when Jeongguk and Jimin find you. Isn't that fantastic?_

Baekhyun was trying to negotiate with Jongdae and Jackson but it wasn't really going well. Jongdae didn't seem to want to let Yugyeom go. The younger was now shaking, his hands cupping his ears. Tears were streaming down Yugyeom's face and he looked ashamed.

"Did Suzy find you?" Jackson quietly whispered in his ear. It surprised Taehyung, and he nodded to see what the older would say. "Y'know, she was supposed to find you much faster, but JYP just wouldn't stop his experiments."

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "And I should care because ...?"

"Just letting you know how painful your death is gonna be. She's known for her ... eccentric tastes in the mutilation of her targets."

"What are you guys talking about?" Joonmyun suspiciously asked. Jeongguk and Jimin were quietly murmuring something while Jongdae was still arguing with Baekhyun.

"This is taking to damn long," Jackson growled. He pulled his gun away from Taehyung's head and lowered it. No sound came out when Jackson shot it, and Taehyung felt another mute burst of pain. All he did was wince, and if Joonmyun hadn't been paying attention, nobody would've known he'd just gotten shot in the arm.

"Wha- Did you shoot Taehyung!?" Joonmyun's voice had gone a few pitches higher than normal.

"Taehyung!" Jeongguk and Baekhyun yelled in unison.

"Yugyeom, now," was all Jackson said.

Taehyung felt blood drip down his arm and he looked down just in time to see a few droplets hit the ground. The bullet didn't come out, so it was probably still lodged in his skin.

_Looks like you'll have to cut your arm open to avoid infection._

"Of fucking course I do," He muttered.

"Shut up," Jackson gruffly repeated.

"Don't," Jeongguk said through gritted teeth. His eyes were furrowed and his hands were clenched into fists. "Don't talk to him like that, you fucking scumbag."

A scoff left Jackson's lips. "Boo hoo, now my feelings are hurt. Anything else you wanna say that would make me break down in tears?"

Jeongguk stared a bit before a smile settled on his face. He stepped forward confidently even though Baekhyun and Jimin reprimanded him. "You're a conniving bastard and I'm glad you're dead."

"Glad I'm-?"

Behind Taehyung, a shot rang out and he felt warm liquid splatter on his neck. Jackson's body went limp and he fell, his gun clattering down next to him.

_Good riddance._

Turning around, Taehyung saw Yoongi, Seokjin, Hoseok, and Namjoon a couple feet away. He smiled and tried to wave, but his hand wasn't working. Casting a look down, he noticed that his arm was bleeding a lot more than he thought it was. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but only ended up stumbling a couple steps forward.

"Help?" He mumbled out before his vision faded to black.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck AP classes, and school in general
> 
> Ya'll are so nice. Thank you for your comments, I appreciate every one of them! <3 Also, sorry for the wait, I'm just easily distracted by nothing

"Taehyung!" Baekhyun yelled in unison with everyone else. He rushed over to Taehyung's limp body and was about to check his injury when somebody roughly pushed him back. "What the-"

"Who the hell are you?" A gruff voice cut him off. Looking up, Baekhyun saw a guy with a suspicious look on his face looming over him. His scrunched up facial features faintly reminded Baekhyun of a grumpy old man.

"Chill out Yoon- uh, Suga hyung," an exasperated voice rang out from behind Baekhyun. "As you can see, this guy is Taehyung's previously unknown older brother, Baekhyun."

The grumpy guy, Suga, raised an eyebrow as he looked Baekhyun up and down.

"Get out of the way," another voice rang out as that someone gently pushed Suga away from Taehyung. The guy had a kind face and full lips which were pursed as he kneeled down next to Taehyung, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Is he gonna be okay, Jin?" The voice from behind Baekhyun asked. The concern in his voice clearly evident, and Baekhyun sympathized with him.

Jin gently pushed away Suga, who had been crowding closer to view Taehyung's face. "His pulse is a bit weak, and we'll have to cut his arm open to take the bullet out so it doesn't become infected. Right now we have to put pressure on his wound so he doesn't lose any more blood."

Unconsciously, Baekhyun had started to bite his bottom lip. "You have to cut him open? That's bad, right?"

Jin looked at him, surprised as he took in Baekhyun's appearance and the similarities between him and Taehyung. He quickly schooled his face into a neutral look before giving Baekhyun a comforting smile. "He should be fine. The bullet should come out with no problems as long as we use clean utensils, have a sterile enough room, and enough painkillers."

"What's going on, Baekhyun?" Joonmyun called out. Baekhyun turned his head and saw him and Jongdae casting Suga and them cautious looks.

Baekhyun glanced around before getting up. "Uh, these are Taehyung's friends, I guess. I mean, they did just shoot the guy who was threatening Tae."

"Where's Yugyeom?" Suga interrupted, quickly drawing his gun up.

"Yugyeom?" Jongdae asked. "You mean that young kid I tied up? He's gagged in there, probably still balling his eyes out." He thrusted the butt of his gun in the direction of a tiny Hallmarks shop.

"Are we cool with Exo or are we about to get brutally murdered and laughed at?" A new voice yelled out. "Yah, Kookie, help me with Rap Mon, he's just so fat it's ridiculous!"

The guy with a hello kitty bat (why?) looked at Taehyung one last time before jogging over to two new guys who just suddenly appeared. One of them was supporting a taller guy who was obviously favoring his right leg. His limp made his injury even more obvious. Wait, was he wearing black shades?

"What- it's not even that sunny in here," Baekhyun almost laughed as he pointed at the guy's sunglasses.

The guy next to him laughed as he made Kookie take over his spot. "Yeah, Rap Mon's a bit high maintenance, y'know? Very prissy without his beauty sleep and all that jazz." He smiled, but it quickly soured when his eyes landed on Taehyung. "This kid ..."

"Jongdae, get over here so we can take Tae to Kyungsoo!" Baekhyun called out. He didn't get to lift Taehyung up before Suga was once again in his face.

"You can't just take him away and do who knows what with him!"

Baekhyun scoffed and pushed him back. He stumbled and glared at Baekhyun so hard, he was surprised Suga hadn't vaporized him by now. "Sorry, but this is my brother, and I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to do whatever it takes to get him better." At Suga's scowl, Baekhyun couldn't help but send him a fake smile. "Now I appreciate what you did for him, but he needs help, _now_. If I can get him it, I damn sure will. Jongdae!"

Jongdae was already gripping Taehyung's legs, Joonmyun watching from the side. It was a bit awkward, but Baekhyun managed to hoist Taehyung up, his head lolling onto his shoulder.

"If you guys wanna follow us and watch over him, that's fine," Joonmyun's voice was calm. "Just stay behind us so you don't get shot. Also, that Jimin guy fainted somewhere behind those benches."

His voice faded as Bakehyun and Jongdae picked up the pace.

"What do we tell Minseok hyung and them?" Baekhyun let the panic he was holding back finally filter into his voice. His breath came out shallow and fast, his eyes periodically looking behind them.

"Fuck man, I don't even know," Jongdae groaned. "All I do know is that Taehyung'll tell us if these guys are okay or not whenever he regains consciousness.

"... Minseok hyung's gonna kill us ..."

A sharp laugh left Jongdae's lips. "Me and Joonmyun never wanted to know who Taehyung's 'friends' were. If anybody's gonna vouch and stick their neck out for them, it's gonna be you."

Before the newfound tense silence could settle, Baekhyun heard Chanyeol's loud voice. "Hyung, they're taking way too long! Shouldn't we go find them and make sure nothing happened to them?"

"... fine, you and- wait, here come Jongdae and Baekhyun."

"Guys! Where's Joonmyun and ..." Chanyeol trailed off when he saw Taehyung's limp body. Baekhyun looked at him and saw that his face was tight with emotion. Slowly, Baekhyun and Jongdae lowered Taehyung onto the floor. Kyungsoo propped his head with his Aeropostle sweater and started to check Taehyung's vitals.

"Minseok hyung," Baekhyun started as everybody but Chanyeol crowded around Taehyung. "Tae got shot in the arm as you can see. There's no exit wound, the offender is dead, and Tae's buddies are following Joonmyun over here. Pleasedon'thurtme!" Baekhyun brought his arms up in defense but no blows came. He slowly opened his eyes and sae that Minseok was just coldly staring at him, arms folded. Actually, he wasn't staring at Baekhyun, but something behind-

"We come in peace, Minseok hyung," Joonnyun's voice chimed, amused. "No need to point those dangerous weapons at us."

Minseok's face relaxed a bit, but his smile still looked a bit strained. "'S not like I even lifted my gun, Joonie. Who're your friends back there?"

Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol raise his gun a bit and rushed to his side. "Chanyeol, stop!" He harshly whispered. He tightly gripped the muzzle of Chanheol's Remington and lowered it. "They saved Tae, okay? They're not the bad guys. At least, I think they're not."

Chanyeol didn't say anything, he just kept watching Taehyung's friends.

"I'm Jin," Jin stepped up with his hands raised. "As you can see, Taehyung needs medical attention. We need to cut open his arm to take the bullet out, otherwise the wound'll become infected."

"But we have nothing that will numb the pain," Chanyeol argued, moving from Baekhyun to stand at Minseok's side. "And isn't he unconscious because he lost a lot of blood? It's not like we can just cut into him and expect him to lose a little bit of blood!"

"You think we don't know that!?" Jimin exploded. He walked up to Chanyeol and glared up at him. "You don't think we fucking know that!? Of course there are risks! He could die whether we do this or not, but at least one of these options has the possibility of saving his life! Besides, why would you care? You don't even know him!"

Chanyeol flinched back, a hurt look flicking across his face. Jimin scowled at him, and Baekhyun felt more anger swell up.

"I would think his own brother would know him," he tried to hold back his anger but it kept slipping into his voice, making it increase in volume as the sentence progressed.

"If you knew him, you would have stayed by him and everything he went through," Jimin discarded Chanyeol and started for Baekhyun. His steps were slow, and his face bitter. "The tears he spilled over you, the abuse he took, and those fuckers who bullied him. You should have helped him, protected him! You should've been there for him when I wasn't able to!"

The punch really shouldn't have surprised Baekhyun as much as it did. He deserved it, but he still didn't want to come to terms with all the horrible things he'd let happen to his baby brother. There was an outbreak of yelling, and Baekhyun felt somebody lift him up. He looked around and saw J-Hope holding Jimin back, who was still yelling things at him. Joonmyun and Minseok were holding Chanyeol back as well, the punch to his best friend probably having set him off.

"-calm down!" Suga's voice filtered through Baekhyun's shock riddled mind. "Jimin, you need to cool down!"

"Chanyeol, if you don't fucking calm down I will kick your balls so hard that you won't walk for a week," Minseok threatened, already roughly gripping Chanyeol's hair.

As quickly as everything had exploded into chaos, everything went back to an unnatural silence. That is, until a certain someone started coughing.

"Taehyung!" Suga immediately rushed to the younger's side, everybody else following his example.

-

Pain. Talking. Hurt. Dead.

Taehyung was trying to comprehend everything that had happened. People were talking, screaming, yelling. He coughed and felt something sticky and metallic come out.

Blood. His arm. Jackson died.

_Doesn't this remind you of the time your father stabbed you with that glass bottle?_

Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Don't say that. Don't want to remember that, any of it.

 _It did happen though. Nothing can change your past_.

Quiet, please. Just be quiet. Sleep. Jiminnie, Jeongukkie, Yooni, Channie, someone help.

There was more noise. It sounded like running. Who was running? Where were they going?

"Taehyung!"

Yelling. Somebody was yelling his name.

_Bad, yelling is bad. You did something wrong, didn't you? Is your father going to punish you? Can you handle it?_

No. No, he couldn't. There was pain, but he felt numb and helpless. He had to get away, away from him. "Please," Taehyung whispered. His throat hurt, and his mouth tasted like blood. "No more, father. Please, it hurts. Jimin, _Jimin help_."

"Shh, I'm here," a new voice whispered. "Don't worry, you're dad's gone, Tae. He can't hurt you anymore."

Taehyung felt somebody slip their hand into his. It was warm and something inside him couldn't stop feeling happy. He wasn't getting hurt, his dad was gone, and Jimin was there.

"Jiminnie," he let out a weak laugh. "You came. You helped me. Thank you, thank you."

"Of course," Jimin's voice cracked. The hand around Taehyung's tightened. "You know I'd never leave you."

Eventually, Taehyung opened his eyes and was greeted by many faces when his eyes adjusted. Next to him, Seokjin lifted the spare blanket they usually saved for emergencies and gently wiped his face.

"Wahhh," he mumbled. "So many people. Channie is that you?"

Chanyeol pushed Yoongi aside and brushed his hand against Taehyung's face. "Yeah, it's me, Taehyunnie." He smiled fondly at him, and Taehyung smiled back.

"I missed you. And Baekkie. Wait, are you crying Yoongi hyung? I never thought I'd see the day."

Yoongi scowled at Taehyung while dabbing at his wet eyes. "Shut up, punk. I'm not crying. As you can see, there are no tears streaming down my face, so technically it's not crying." Taehyung saw Seokjin, Jimin, Jeongguk, Hoseok, and Namjoon laugh and another feeling filled his heart.

_Content._

Something pressed against his arm, causing Taehyung to gasp in pain.

"What's wrong, Tae?"

"Give him space!"

"You guys are crowding him, give him some breathing space!"

Again, back to yelling. It hurt Taehyung's ears. Everybody was leaving, backing up. No, don't leave, "-don't leave me alone."

Kyungsoo came back and untied something that was wrapped around his arm. "Don't worry, Tae. You'll see them again, I just need to check your wound."

Taehyung hissed at the added pressure before he calmed down. He didn't look down at his wound, but he heard Kyungsoo mumble some words.

"Is it bad, hyung?"

"No, but we need alcohol to clean the wound. We also ... there's no easy way to say this, but we have to cut your arm open to take out the bullet."

"... oh," Taehyung whispered. "Okay. If it makes me better, than okay ..."

Minutes passed and Kyungsoo retied his arm with a clean shirt he got from a store. He left to go talk with Minseok while Taehyung just continued to lie down.

"You coping?" Jeongguk murmured when he sat down next to him.

Taehyung tried to smile, but winced instead. "I'll get used to it, I always do. It's just a matter of time before I can tune out the pain I guess."

A shaky breath left Jeongguk as he turned to look at him. "Tae, please don't say that, even if it's true. You shouldn't be used to this. It's not right what your father did, and you shouldn't have had to go through all that bullshit."

"But I did," Taehyung lifted his good arm and placed his hand over Jeongguk's. "It's okay now. He's gone, so I don't have to deal with him anymore. The past is in the past. Now, all I've gotta do is move forward."

Jeongguk lifted Taehyung's hand and pressed his lips against it.

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_ ," Baekhyun's voice called out as he strided over to them. "What the hell is going on? Tae, are you in- uh, what I mean is are you-? With him?"

Taehyung's cheeks flushed as he meekly nodded. Jeongguk was smirking at Baekhyun, even daring to stick his tongue out at the older. "Yes, Baekhyun. Me and your brother are dating." As if he had to prove his point, Jeongguk gripped the back of Taehyung's head before dragging him in for an open-mouthed kiss.

"PG!" Jimin yelled. "Oh god my eyes!"

"Taehyunnie, you're too young for that!" Chanyeol's high pitched yell followed.

"Actually, Jeongguk's the one who's too young for it," Yoongi calmly corrected.

"Love's a beautiful thing," Seokjin dreamily murmered.

"Love?" Baekhyun screeched. "What the actual fuck!?"

"Baekhyun wants to bang Kyungsoo!" Jongdae yelled before running away while cackling like a madman.

"I accidentally walked into Chanyeol hyung masturbating to Minseok hyung!" Jongin loudly confessed, causing everybody to shut up and Jeongguk to pull away from a panting, flushed Taehyung.

Minseok tiredly rubbed his face and looked at everyone for a couple seconds. "I need a nap."

When he left, Chanyeol collapsed against a fake tree mumbling nonsense. Jongin tried to console him, but was pushed away.

"Sooo, that happened." Baekhyun awkwardly laughed.

Kyungsoo only raised an eyebrow before he walked away, Jongdae trailing behind him.

"Ha, Exo's just as much of a train wreck as we are!" Hoseok exclaimed.

"This doesn't usually happen," Joonmyun commented as he went over to Chanyeol to comfort him. "But really, Baekhyun? Kyungsoo? You two are polar opposites."

Baekhyun sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair and gazed longily in the direction Kyungsoo had left in. "What can I say? There's just something about him that drags me in."

Taehyung cupped his hands and yelled. "Masochist!"

"Taehyung I swear to all that is holy, if you don't shut the fuck up-"

"Temper, temper," Jimin teased.

"You're all fucking annoying with your ridiculous love problems," Yoongi scowled, plopping himself down in front of Taehyung's extended legs.

"Well sorry we're not all emotionless bastards like you," Namjoon sarcastically said. He struggled to sit down next to Yoongi, but managed with Seokjin's help.

"You're all just really weird," Jeongguk finalized while laying his head on Taehyung's thighs.

"Chanyeol what the fuck, is that a cockroach!? Why the- stop petting it you emotional yoda wannabe!"

"Very weird," Hoseok seriously agreed.

Seokjin rolled his eyes and patted Taehyung's head. "You all rest, okay? Me, that Jongin kid, and Joonmyun are gonna look for medicine for Tae."

They nodded and watched Baekhyun and Chanyeol fight over the cockroach that was currently in Chanyeol's outstretched palm.

"Y'know, I think we're gonna get along fine with Exo," Taehyung said. He looked at Yoongi who was just about to nod off.

Yoongi slowly nodded, and one side of his mouth pulled up slightly. "Oddly enough, I agree. Now sh, I need sleep so your guys' dumb shit doesn't get me."

"Love you too, hyung," Hoseok trilled.

"YOU FUCKING THREW IT AT ME, CHANYEOL! YOU ARE SO DEAD, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

"Yeah, we're definitely gonna be able to sleep," Jeongguk snorted.

_Isn't this precious? Too bad it won't last. Nothing that makes you happy ever lasts._

And usually it doesn't. But now, in this moment, Taehyung cherishes every moment he spends with his friends, his boyfriend, his brother. And yes, it's true that this will end, and something unbelievably horrifying could happen at any moment, but this right now was enough.

It was enough because at that moment, Taehyung no longer felt alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Hours passed, people moved, Taehyung watched. Sometimes Kyungsoo would check on him and how he was doing. Yoongi fed him some chocolate, causing Jeongguk to glare at him as he possessively held onto Taehyung's hand. Everything was fine, even the pain in his shoulder dulling a bit.

At least, until Seokjin showed up to clean his wound.

"It burns!" Taehyung hissed. He tried to twist away from the incoming alcohol soaked towel, but Chanyeol and Jeongguk held him down. "Fucking hell!"

"It'll be okay," Seokjin consoled, wincing when Taehyung let out another yell of pain. "Yoongi, hold down his legs. He's still moving too much."

After a couple more seconds of pain and screaming, Seokjin balled the towel and put it aside. "Hey, it's over now." He murmured as he brushed Taehyung's matted bangs back.

Slowly Taehyung regained his breath, his eyes closed from the sharp waves of pain that were fading away. Once it was at a simmer, he opened his eyes and let out a sharp laugh. "That fucking hurt. Thanks, Seokjin hyung."

Chanyeol pouted, already starting to get up in Taehyung's space. "Hey hey hey, I'm here too, Taehyunnie!" He was about to press his forhead against Taehyung's when Jeongguk's hand intercepted.

"I'm pretty sure he's grateful for all your help, Chanyeol," Jeongguk gave him such a fake smile that Taehyung wanted to laugh. Chanyeol's surprised face making the urge to laugh even harder to resist.

"... I'm glad you think that, but I'm pretty sure you're not Taehyung," Chanyeol bit out, his face already creasing in anger.

"Thanks, hyung! I'm really super grateful, and you're just such a nice person for accepting Jeongguk and all his nonexistent flaws!" Taehyung yelled before things got out of hand. He pulled Chanyeol down for a hug, making sure that Jeongguk could see his mocking glare.

When he pulled back, most of the anger on Chanyeol's face was gone. Most of it. "No prob, Hyunnie." He glanced at Jeongguk before he quickly leaned in and planted a kiss on Taehyung's cheek. "Viva la resistance!" He avoided Jeongguk's hands and ran to the escalators before disappearing from view.

Jeongguk's nose was scrunched up in distaste, and this time Taehyung didn't hold in his laugh. "I really do not like that guy, Tae. He seems really obnoxious."

"Welp, sorry to break it to you Kookie," Yoongi drawled as he dropped some blankets on them. "But it seems like 'that guy' and Tae are really close, so _learn_ to like him."

All Jeongguk did was groan at his statement. "Noooo."

Taehyung smiled. It was cute how Jeongguk went from being this tough guy, to pouting like a child when they didn't get what they wanted.

"Hey, look. Jimin's laughing with that tan guy," Namjoon interrupted.

When Taehyung turned away from Jeongguk, he noticed that Jimin was, in fact, laughing with Jongin by the fake trees. "It's nice that they hit it off so quickly."

A sudden stab of pain in Taehyung's shoulder caused him to gasp out. Immediately, everybody surrounded him. All of their faces were filled with concern, and it was such a common look on them that Taehyung was getting sick of seeing.

"Take-" Another sharp intake. Pain. "-this fucking bullet out. Please, just take it out. It hurts."

Everything was fading again, but this time, Taehyung didn't feel like he wanted to wake up.

 

-

 

"Tae?" Yoongi slightly shook the younger's body, hoping that his eyes would open up. "Tae, don't do this. Wake up. _Wake up._ " After a couple more minutes of shaking and prodding, a hand finally landed on his shoulder, pulling him away.

It was Seokjin. "Yoongi, stop. He ... he doesn't look like he's gonna get back up any time soon."

The worry he felt diminished until all he felt was despair. "Oh. Okay. I'll just ..." he trailed off. Seokjin nodded, eventually turning away and walking off to who knows where.

"Tae," he heard Jeongguk whisper.

_No no no no no no no no. Shouldn't be you, shouldn't be **you**._

Yoongi pushed himself off the ground and went into the nearest convenience store. He threw stuff around, checked behind knocked over items, but what he wanted wasn't there.

So he went to another one. Then another one, and so on until he finally found a pack of discarded cigarettes that had been hidden behind a bunch of empty boxes.

Nobody was around, and it wasn't that he cared if anybody saw him, but he just wanted to be left alone. He managed to take a few drags before he heard footsteps.

"Go away," he whispered, his voice rough from the smoke. Yoongi didn't look to see who it was, hoping that his tone would drive them off.

It didn't.

"Sorry, but this isn't something you should go through alone," the voice was soft and unfamiliar.

_Must be someone from Exo._

"You would fucking know, huh?" The silence that followed made him feel a bit guilty, but he just didn't care. And hey, it's not like he had to be nice to Exo or anything. He didn't own them shit.

"I do." And the way he said it, so filled with sorrow and remorse, made him open his eyes. It was the guy Seokjin had left with. Joonmyun. His hair was a bit greasy, but it didn't make him look any less attractive. His skin was incredibly pale and it surprised Yoongi since the mall had so many windowed ceilings. What attracted him most though, were his eyes. They were a common brown color, but the haunted look in them, as if he'd seen so many horrors, rendered Yoongi speechless.

Because Yoongi was him, and he was Yoongi. Joonmyun wasn't lying, because nobody could fake that. The pain of losing everybody close to you. The disgust at watching them turn.

The cigarette slipped from his fingers, falling and falling until it reached the floor and burned out.

"I do," Joonmyun murmered, taking another step forward. He paused, took a seat on the floor, and patted the spot next to him. Slowly, Yoongi walked to him. When he sat down, Joonmyun handed him a piece of jerky.

Neither of them talked, even after Yoongi finished the jerky. Oddly enough, they didn't need to. They both already knew what the other was feeling, and the silence was something that they both needed at the moment.

Because if anything, Yoongi knew things could be worse. And something told him that Joonmyun knew as well.

 

-

 

"We need to take the bullet out, sooner rather than later," Kyungsoo informed the broad shouldered guy, Seokjin. "Once we find painkillers and some antibiotics, we'll have to take that bullet out quickly."

Seokjin's face was tight with worry, but he nodded nonetheless. "I'll go look for some. Is the pharmacy here still intact?"

Kyungsoo shook his head. "Got ravaged before we took over. We got a bit of saved up antibiotics, but painkillers are hard to come by. And of course, we can do this without them, but Taehyung would feel excruciating pain. That is, of course, if he regains consciousness during the operation. And even then, the pain after will also be unimaginable."

As Kyungsoo had continued talking, Seokjin had started to pace. His pace continued to increase even after Kyungsoo had finished.

"... if we find any painkillers, I think we should give them to him after the surgery." His answer surprised Kyungsoo. "I mean, he seems to be in a coma, so it should be fine ...?"

"Sorry, but I think you're mistaken. Taehyung, unless he's numbed to pain, will feel every incision we make. If he stays in the coma while we're cutting into him, he'll feel the pain if we don't give him painkillers. The difference is that without painkillers, we just won't hear his screams of pain. And that's  _if_ he doesn't wake up from the intense pain."

"I don't fucking know, okay!?" Seokjin yelled, covering his face with his hands. "We should have never went into that house, damn it. I _told_ Yoongi not too, but _nooo_. And now? I just can't leave them ..." his voice cracked, and Kyungsoo could see his tears dripping onto the floor.

There was nothing Kyungsoo could say. No words of comfort to ease his worries, no words of encouragement, absolutely nothing. The situation reminded him of ... Sehun. But with Sehun, there was nothing he could do but watch. With Taehyung, he could help, but he knew that Taehyung's friends would hate him for putting him through so much pain.

Not to mention Chanyeol and Baekhyun's reactions.

 

-

 

Jimin watched as Jeongguk kept combing his fingers through Taehyung's hair, sweet nothings probably falling from his lips even though the other couldn't hear them. It hurt to see his best friend like this, and so far there wasn't anything he'd done to really help him.

"You okay?" Jongin's voice surprised him, but Jimin quickly hid his surprise and put on a fake smile.

"Ah, Jongin. Well, I'm not exactly bouncing with joy here."

Jongin rolled his eyes as he let out a dry laugh. "Oh yeah? And I'm no stranger to sarcasm."

An uncomfortable silence fell over them as they continued to watch Taehyung. Jimin almost followed when Yoongi left, but after he saw who Jongin had called Joonmyun go after him, he decided to stay.

"... this sucks," Jongin groaned.

Jimin couldn't agree more.

 

-

 

"Everything bad always has to happen to us!" Baekhyun yelled.

Chanyeol quietly watched him pace around, his face wiped clean of any emotions. They were in the food court, just walking around to blow off some steam. Taehyung's scene had caused Baekhyun to ... 'go off', and Chanyeol had just managed to calm him down.

"Is this karma, or some other stupid shit like it?" Baekhyun's voice dropped to an exhausted whisper. "I just wanted to be with my brother, Chanyeol. Is that too much to ask?" He sighed. Baekhyun ended up just lying on a table while Chanyeol blankly stared at an area for no reason.

Baekhyun closed his eyes because right now, there was too much shit going through his mind.

_Suzy, JYP, Taehyung, his weird friends that kind of don't like them. God, everything's so fucked up._

When Chanyeol started to hum Taehyung's favorite song, Baekhyun felt the pinprick of tears threaten to fall. He managed to keep them back, but the pressure in his chest never went away.

"Baby don't cry, tonight," Baekhyun joined in, his voice barely audible. Their voices echoed back, and by the end of the song, Chanyeol's eyes were just as glassy as his.

Who knew that after all the messages Baekhyun had made, his baby brother would end up dying from some asshole that worked for JYP.

If anything, that made him feel one hundred times worse. If Baekhyun had been a better brother, maybe none of this would've happened. Well, it's not like it matters anyways. Afterall, trying to live in a zombie apocalyptic world is impossible without some casualties.

And it seems that Taehyung's no exception.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why the fuck is House of Cards so sexual. Like, ya'll have no chill, none at all. Btw, am so sorry for how long this took, I'm just a lazy fuck

Everything was black. And quiet. Nothing seemed to bring Taehyung out of his unending slumber.

Not only that, Taehyung also felt suffocated. His only comforting thought was that maybe, somewhere beside him, was Jeongguk, Jimin, Yoongi, anybody really, by his side. Just the thought of being alone made his chest contrict. He doesn't want to be alone.

It was peaceful though. He couldn't deny that he didn't miss feeling pain, or worrying if anybody else was going to die unexpectedly.

But time was passing. Or . . . Was it? Taehyung couldn't tell. One minute, an hour, a day, a week, he just didn't know and it scared him. Maybe it mattered, maybe it didn't, but it's not like he was able to understand how time worked in his blank state of mind. What really bugged him though, was one recurring thought.

_Wouldn't everything be fine if you just died right now?_

Jimin would cry, maybe. Probably Jeongguk too. Chanyeol would definitely cry because he's always been a big baby. Baekhyun and Sehun might even but-

Taehyung felt an overwhelming sadness. Sehun. Sehunnie wasn't . . . If he was conscious, he most likely would have burst in tears.

_If only you and Kyungsoo actually tried to save him._

Of course Taehyung would have tried, but there wasn't enough time! He wanted to scream, and maybe he did, but there was no way to know for sure.

Again, more time seemingly passed and he still felt nothing, saw nothing, didn't really seem to think about anything. At one time he thought he felt a twinge of pain, but Taehyung just presumed that he started hallucinating to trick his mind into thinking that he actually felt something other than the usual nothingness.

But it passed, and once again he was alone.

 

-

 

Chanyeol nervously pulled his hair. He twitched at every little noise he heard even though there was nothing to be wary of. Jongdae suddenly stood up from the couch and Chanyeol couldn't help but flinch.

"Calm down," Kyungsoo murmured from beside him. "It's only been two weeks, Channie. Taehyung should be fine now that the bullet's out. All that matters now is that he takes his pills and rests, okay?"

"Yeah, Chanboi," Jongdae yelled from somewhere in the shop. "He'll be fiiine! And hey, why don't we check up on him so you don't feel like shit anymore."

Chanyeol scowled, but got up nonetheless. "I don't feel like shit, Dae. And sorry if I'm concerned that Taehyung just started screaming out of nowhere for an _hour_. Man, when he gets up his voice'll be _wrecked_."

"And for all the wrong reasons," snickered Jongdae.

"Fucking pervert," Baekhyun said with disgust.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes when Jongdae and Baekhyun started to get up on each other, play hitting the entire time. "You guys are such pansies. I guess I'll just check on Tae by myself."

Only Joonmyun made any sort of acknowledgement of Chanyeol's statement, the rest of them egging on Jongdae and Baekhyun's little fight that was getting more aggressive by the second. By the time he was at the door, Baekhyun was yelling nonsense that sounded like taunts.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and started for the dormant escalators. "And to think people are afraid of Exo with _those_ bozos around."

 

-

 

"Koooookie," Jimin droned. "Koooookie!"

Jeongguk's eye twitched with annoyance. For the past couple of minutes that he had left Taehyung's side to bathe in the fountain, Jimin had decided it was a good time to trail after him and pester him even though he was butt naked.

"Kookie, do you really think we should trust Yugyeom?"

The sudden shift in conversation made Jeongguk pause his ministrations. He looked up to see Jimin's head propped on the fountain, staring at the ceiling.

"I mean, I don't trust him," Jimin continued. "Even though he's helping Seokjin hyung make dinner, I'm pretty sure he'll poison us or something."

Jeongguk put his soap down and stretched his arms. "I get what you mean, but Yoongi said that Yugyeom was the one who warned them to come after us. If anything, we kind of owe him. Not that I'll treat him any nicer, but I don't trust him with my life or anything serious like that."

Jimin slightly moved his head, but otherwise stayed quiet. Jeongguk rolled his eyes at how angsty the older was acting, so he started to hum Fantastic Baby by Big Bang. Immediately, Jimin got up and started dancing.

Jeongguk stopped humming to laugh, but that didn't stop Jimin at all. If anything, the older started to dance even more flamboyantly.

"What the hell, Jimin," laughed Jeongguk. "I don't wanna see you twerk!"

Jimin stuck his tongue out as he got up from the floor. "You're right, me twerking is too sexy for your virgin eyes." That elicited a snort from the younger, causing Jimin to raise his eyebrows in amusement. "Well okay, _not_ a virgin. Not like I needed to know that."

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hey, pass me that towel."

 

-

 

"Hey, how do I look?" Namjoon asked, striking an outrageous pose with a strikingly bright pink hat.

Yoongi had been sharpening a dagger he had found before he glanced up. "Dude, you look like a gaudy white girl with no shame."

Namjoon let out an exaggerated sigh while rolling his eyes. "Aren't you specific? Hey, Jongin, throw me that ugly ass scarf."

Jongin's head popped up from behind a clothes stand. "Okay, hyung. Wait, the one with zebra stripes or the one that looks like a rainbow puked on it ten times over?"

Namjoon held his chin in his hand as if choosing the ugliest scarf was really a difficult question to answer. "Rainbow puke."

Yoongi fought a smile when he saw Namjoon, by _himself_ , start hobbling over to Jongin to fuss over hideous scarves. The other barely flinched anymore when he walked and Yoongi couldn't have felt happier. Well, maybe if Taehyung got up then he wouldn't feel so down anymore, but being with the others, safe, was just fine for now.

Of course, Exo was weird, but it's not like they were any better. Another thing was that Jongin had definitely taken to them.  The younger had said that he wanted to spend time with people other than Exo after having been with them for so long.

"Their craziness has started to affect me," he had complained.

"Isn't it weird how these stores still have a lot of useless shit in it?" Yoongi said to no one in particular. He bent down and picked up a stuffed animal with big eyes. It was a cute little penguin with blue and black fur, and Yoongi decided to put it away in his pack for Taehyung. The younger had always liked cute things.

"Well duh, of course there's a lot of useless shit," Namjoon put on a pair of sunglasses with Tinkerbell on the sides. "It's _useless_ , so why would people stop and get it? Will it help them survive while a zombie bites their face off? Nope, so you can't really blame them for leaving this shit behind."

"Ha! Look hyung, a peacock headband!" Jongin picked up a headband with so many feathers that were disgustingly bright, they started hurting Yoongi's eyes.

"Oh my god, it's like you two are kids who're dressing up in whatever clothes they find in their eomma's closet."

They ignored him and continued putting whatever disturbing fashion accessories they could find on each other. It was like giving a little girl a tablet with a dress-up app and letting her go fucking crazy.

Since they were having so much fun and Yoongi didn't really want to rain on their parade, he started to leave with his newfound items. "I'm out, guys. See ya'll fucks later for lunch."

"Bye hyung!"

"Fuck off, shortie."

 

-

 

"He's okay, y'know?" Chanyeol heard someone say from behind him. He slightly turned his head and saw Hoseok sit down next to him.

"I know. I just . . . I wanna see him smile again," Chanyeol quietly replied. He grabbed Taehyung's limp hand and played with his fingers. "Baekhyun's been getting less sleep and Suzy hasn't come yet and your friends Jeongguk and Jimin are also always here for him but everything's-"

"Dude!" Hoseok cut him off, laughing. "Everything's fine right now, so don't worry! That doesn't mean let your guard down, but just relax, okay?"

Chanyeol's face flushed with embarrassment. How could he just suddenly dump his pent up feelings on some guy he barely even knew? "Uh, thanks. Sorry about, uh, that sudden rant."

Hoseok gave him a good natured shrug and clapped his back. "No prob. Jimin's just like you, so I'm used to it. And another piece of unprecedented advice, you should get a hobby. Go release your anger and frustration by drawing, singing at that karaoke place, knocking things over in stores, or by taking down some zombies with a bat or chainsaw. Trust me, these methods help a lot."

Chanyeol nodded, and that was enough for Hoseok. Soon enough, Chanyeol was once again alone with Taehyung, their hands now intertwined. Unconsciously, Taehyung's fingers had curled around Chanyeol's, reminding him of how babies tightly grip your finger.

"Hey," he whispered, bending his head to press a kiss to the younger's forehead. "Taehyunnie, if you wake up, I'll make sure to write you a song. Baekhyunnie would sing it, just like you always want him to. You wouldn't have to worry about going home like when we were kids. We'll just sing, and mess around, and it wouldn't matter how late it'd get. So please, wake up soon."

He pulled back, secretly hoping what he said worked, but Taehyung's face was as peaceful as ever. The silence stretched on and for a while, Chanyeol felt empty.

 

-

 

There was an ache, and that surprised Taehyung. It felt like Taehyung's shoulder, but that shouldn't be possible. He tried to lift his arm and immediately stopped when a stab of pain overtook his senses.

"Fuck," he mumbled. And wait, he _heard_ that. He heard himself talk, but that had never happened before. His voice sounded terrible, and cracked, but he could _hear_ again.

Eventually, he did what he hoped was opening his eyes, and _yes_ , he could see! It was dark, but there was a faint light that was shining from the second floor.

He tried to get up by pushing himself up with his good arm, but immense pain was starting to take over his other arm. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing, eventually managing to ignore the pain. He opened his eyes again, deciding to focus on his surroundings.

He seemed to be in the last place that he had fainted at, with a pink hello kitty blanket draped over him. He picked it up and rolled his eyes. Jimin was insufferable.

Taehyung slowly got up and waited for himself to balance. He looked around and noticed Jeongguk was sleeping a couple of feet away from him, Jimin's leg propped on his chest. Carefully, Taehyung walked over to them. He smiled fondly when he saw that Jeongguk was drooling, his hair mussed and Jimin's light snoring making them all the cuter.

He walked on and stumbled on a surprising sight. Yugyeom of all people, was cuddled up next to Seokjin. His hands were clenching the older's shirt, and Namjoon was passed out next to them. Yoongi was by himself a ways off, his back pressed against the wall. His chest was slightly heaving, and his sleeping position made Taehyung cringe. He was totally going to complain about his back in the morning.

"But maybe . . ." And a brilliant, or stupid, plan popped into Taehyung's head. Yoongi had always been a deep sleeper, Jimin and Taehyung's earlier experiments had proved that. So, Taehyung mused that he could move Yoongi, no problem, into a more comfortable position.

He managed to wrap his arm around Yoongi's shoulder and cautiously brought Yoongi down. The older didn't seem to notice his descent and continued to sleep.

After backing up a bit, Taehyung admired how cute his hyung was. Suddenly, he felt tired. Moving Yoongi hadn't been easy, and he had just waken up after who knows how long. He felt weaker, and now it was showing. Since everybody else had a sleeping partner except for Yoongi, Taehyung decided to settle down next to him on his good arm.

Before he dozed off, he felt one of Yoongi's hands settle on his head. It was nice to be back, Taehyung thought. Because even if it was nice to be unconscious and pain free, he missed being with his friends the most.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say, I've been rereading comments and asdfghjkl ya'll are so fucking cute!!! Shoutouts to : TaeTaeCrazed, Jee, inspiritcassiexoxo, akma, nafeera, Jelinsugar, dfgh, btslover, peace_love9813, tz, Kakocchiiw, spookaradia, TMI, Ciza, yehetjams, Banexx, xXKitKitXx ;* Like, ya'll are so sweet and you actually like this story which still surprises me because *cough* it's shite and poorly proofread *cough*
> 
> I HONESTLY LOVE YOU ALL AND YOUR SUPPORT, YOUR COMMENTS KEEP ME GOING BECAUSE I HAVE GIVEN UP BUT I DON'T WANNA BE A DICK AND NOT FINISH THIIIS
> 
> And just so ya'll know, I'm hoping to finish this in the 20-25 chap. range. But hey, don't quote me on that

It felt like Taehyung had only slept a couple of minutes when somebody tried to wake him up. "Fuck off, 'm sleepy." His voice cracked, and his throat felt really dry. Damn was he thirsty.

He heard the person let out an amazed laugh, making Taehyung open his eyes in suspicion. Who the hell laughed when someone told them to fuck off?

"You crazy fucker." All Taehyung saw before he was brought down for a noogie was a flash of blond hair. "Speaking down to me like that. Who gave you the right?" There was amusement in their voice.

Taehyung yelped in frustration when he couldn't wriggle out of their grip. "I'm sorry, hyung! Please let me go before I suffocate in your smelly clothes!"

They let out another laugh, but much softer than their first. "Okay, squirt. Just know that Jimin's gonna tackle you when he wakes up."

Taehyung smiled at the mention of his best friend. He looked up and noticed that it was Yoongi, and he had dyed (or was it bleached?) his hair a pretty blond color. Last night he hadn't really paid attention, but now in the sunlight Yoongi's blond hair really stood out against his pale skin.

"Waaah," Taehyung said, reaching his hands to touch the older's hair. "You actually dyed your hair? I thought you said that it was too 'girly'."

Yoongi rolled his eyes, letting Taehyung comb his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, well I just wanted to. Didn't you say you wanted to see me blond at least once in your life?" he teased.

Taehyung's cheeks pinked a bit at the comment. They fell in a comfortable silence, Yoongi closing his eyes as Taehyung kept playing with his hair.

"Rise and shine, children!" Jongdae's voice yelled out from the second floor. "Riiiise and shine for some tasty breakfast before fat ass Baekhyun gets his hands on it!"

"Food!" Taehyung's eyes lit up, his stomach rumbling at the prospect of food.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips slightly pulling up in an earnest smile. "I highly doubt you'll get to eat anything if your brother sees you up and about."

All Taehyung did was shrug as he got up. The pain in his arm had dulled overnight. He lifted his arm, expecting new waves of pain to overtake him, but all he felt was soreness.

"I'm a complete asshole, Tae, but I need this more than you know," Yoongi said from behind him. Taehyung wondered where that statement came from before he turned around to tell Yoongi that he'd never think that of him, but Yoongi's arm gripped the back of his neck and pulled him down for a bruising kiss. Taehyung's eyes were wide with shock, his whole body paralyzed in surprise and disbelief. The kiss itself would have been nice if Taehyung had responded, but he just stood stock still no matter how much pressure Yoongi applied.

Yoongi pulled back abrublty, his eyes slowly opening to look at Taehyung. There were so many emotions Taehyung saw; hope, love, fear, sadness. But what overwhelmed Taehyung the most was the lonliness he saw in the older's eyes.

"I love you," Yoongi's voice came out a broken whisper, his finger trailing against Taehyung's features. "I love you so much it hurts. I wouldn't blame you if you never talked to me again, but I just wanted to have this one moment with you."

Tears welled up in Taehyung's eyes. Betrayal, hate, anger, all these feeling and more were swelling up inside him. "I- How could you?" Taehyung said. "I'm with Jeongguk but you just-!"

Yoongi backed away, a sad heart wrenching smile on his face. "It always comes back to him, doesn't it?"

Taehyung was filled with confusion and hurt. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course it does since he's my boyfriend and you just _kissed_ me!"

Another sad smile. "I know. Goodbye, Taehyung. Tell Joonie and Seok not to follow me," Yoongi said as he picked up his knapsack as well as his gun from where he had slept. "They're safer here, anyways."

Taehyung's earlier mixed emotions vanished when Yoongi started to walk away in the direction of the mall's exit. "Wait, you can't leave!"

Yoongi let out a sharp laugh, but he didn't look back. "I'm sorry, but I can't be close to you anymore. It would've been fine if that brat wasn't dating you, but now it's unbearable to watch you be so happy with him. I'm sorry for being so selfish, but if there was any other option I would've taken it . . ." his voice trailed away the further away he got.

Taehyung watched his back until he turned a corner and disappeared, leaving him feeling alone and hollow. What made him feel worse though was that if Yoongi had asked him to be his boyfriend before Jeongguk had, he probably would have said yes. Because while Yoongi would try so hard to appear tough and strong for them, Taehyung knew that he was just as fragile, and just as broken as anyone else.

"I'm sorry I couldn't love you the way you wanted me too," Taehyung hoarsely whispered. His voice was swallowed up by the nothingness surrounding him as nobody but him listened for a response that would never come.

 

-

 

After Taehyung had calmed down, he decided to see his brother. As he climbed the escaltors, he heard groans as people started to fully wake up. He had just reached the top step when his eyes met Chanyeol's.

Taehyung didn't even get to open his mouth to greet him before Chanyeol picked him up and spinned him around. "MY BABY TAE!" He yelled, obviously elated.

They were both breathless when Chanyeol stopped and set Taehyung down. They had matching smiles, but Chanyeol's eyes gleamed with unshed tears. "I missed you, Taehyunnie . . ."

A sudden hug stopped him from replying. Taehyung looked down and he stared at Baekhyun's angry face. "Don't you ever!" He started, his voice filled with emotion. "Get hurt again!" He sniffed, holding onto Taehyung even tighter.

"I'm not sure that'll be possible, Baekhyunnie," Taehyung warmly smiled at his brother. Baekhyun's glare softened until all that was left was a blubbering mess.

"I thought you died when they did the surgery!" he wailed into Taehyung's shirt.

Taehyung calmly rubbed his back, making sure to whisper comforting words and tell Baekhyun that he was 'here now, nothing bad was going to happen again'. Chanyeol was watching, his face adorning a wide smile.

More people had gathered around them, but Taehyung didn't pay them any attention until Baekhyun calmed down from full out sobbing to small hiccups and puffy red eyes.

"I look so ugly," Baekhyun laughed. It came out choked and ended in another hiccup.

Taehyung rolled his eyes and thumbed away Baekhyun's tears. "Only you would be thinking about looks now, hyung."

From the corner the of his eye, Taehyung saw Kyungsoo come up and start to pull Baekhyun away. Baekhyun started to complain but quieted when he saw who it was that was taking him away.

Of course, once Baekhyun was gone another person was wrapping their arms around Taehyung's torso.

"You should have woke me up, Taetae!" Jimin whined, pressing light kisses to his cheeks and forehead. "And since you're hurt I'll feed you, change you, help you pick up whatever you can't, sleep with you at night in case you need help-"

"What!?" Came Baekhyun's scandalous yell.

Jimin rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking about sex, thank you very much. I'll leave that part for Jeongguk to _fill_ , if you know what I mean." He gave Taehyung a suggestive wink.

Taehyung scowled, his face dusted a light pink. "Shut up, you're about to give Baek a heart attack!"

"He's about given me a heart attack with all his bothering and anxiousness while you were out," Jimin pouted. He gave Taehyung one last kiss on the nose before letting go.

Jeongguk immediately swept in, pulling Taehyung into a tight hug. Their faces ended up centimeters apart, their breaths mingling together. Taehyung felt his face heat up again, but Yoongi popped into his head and instead of the usual lust he felt with Jeongguk, all he felt was guilt.

"I missed you," Jeongguk's voice was still a bit raspy from waking up, eliciting a shiver from Taehyung. His dark eyes peered into Taehyung's, and the older felt affection bubble up inside of him.

"I must've been out for a long time then," Taehyung joked.

Jeongguk frowned a bit, but that didn't stop him from cupping Taehyung's face. "Yeah, you were . . . But you're here now, so that doesn't matter anymore." His frown changed to a smile. Jeongguk leaned closer and gently pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. It was short, sweet, and it made Taehyung feel horrible.

Jeongguk pressed one last kiss to his temple before letting him go. Hoseok, Seokjin, and Namjoon had decided to hug him together, their bodies smothering him.

"Oh Tae, Jimin was so worried!" Seokjin rambled, pushing Taehyung's bangs back. "He cried for a week every night after you got your surgery! Now that I think about it, I think Jeongguk did too but he always tried to hide it. And- Taehyung! You're so skinny! Nope, no, not good. I'll put some meat on those bones, just you wait!"

The way Seokjin cooed over him made Taehyung smile the entire time the older was talking to him. Namjoon and Hoseok stood by, Namjoon's eyes closed and a content look on his face. Hoseok sent him a bright smile, but he ended being dragged away by Jimin for some reason unbeknownst to him.

_Tell Joonie and Seok not to follow me._

Taehyung's happiness abruptly faded away when Yoongi's words came back to him. How could he tell his friends that Yoongi, their best friend that they had been together with since the start, just left? And to add the cherry on top, he had left because Taehyung didn't love Yoongi the way he had loved him.

"Hyungs?" Taehyung said quietly enouh for only Seokjin and Namjoon to hear.

Seokjin shut up while Namjoon leaned closer in acknowledgement.

"Yoongi hyung . . ." Taehyung didn't know why he paused, but right then he knew he couldn't tell them the truth of what had happened between Yoongi and him. At least, not yet. "He told me that he needed to go out for something. He didn't specify, but he did tell me to tell you guys not to follow him."

Seokjin thoughtfully frowned. Namjoon raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"What exactly did he say?" Seokjin asked. His question was suspicious but his face was passive.

"He said, 'Tell Joonie and Seok not to follow me'," Taehyung quoted.

Seokjin's face went from passive to carefree. "Ah, okay. If that's what he wants, I guess we'll stay put. Right, Namjoon?"

Namjoon nodded in agreement.

"Not that this isn't a lovely, tear inducing moment," Jongdae's voice interrupted them. "but I'm kind of hungry and I'd really like my food to _not_ have baby fly larvae in it."

Everybody stared at him, flabbergasted.

"What?" He shrugged. "I like not being filled with parasites."

"I'm hungry too," Taehyung agreed.

"Then, my little Taetae," Seokjin pulled Taehyung along to the cafeteria. "I shall make good on my promise."

Even as Taehyung ate and was surrounded by the people he loved most, their faces full of life, filled with joy and happiness, Taehyung felt like he was being eaten alive.

Because while everything felt fine and in place, Taehyung knew it wasn't. The scenario reminded him of a jenga tower missing a base of its support. And if there was a slight breeze, he knew everything would fall and topple around him.

And now in retrospect, it was only fitting that Suzy was that breeze, and that he was that tower. Because if he's learned anything, it's that happiness is only for the moment and that it must be cherished.

So then, in that moment with his friends, his lover, and his brother, he cherished that happiness for all it was worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Fire' is lit as fuck, and 'Save Me' made me cry like the emotional shit I am


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TMI, not that I'm suggesting that your taekoogi is a bad idea, but (sadly) I don't think it's possible. It's already established that Yoongi & and Kook hate each other because they both compete with each other to win Tae's affection, but since Yoonie backed off, Kook won. But I rlly like your idea so I'll try and make Kook see how important Yoonie is too Tae and maybe it'll become TaeKookGi >:D
> 
> Btw, Y'ALL DIDNT THINK I WAS GONNA UPDATE SO FAST BUT HAH! HA HA!!! But srly, I was s'pposed to update yesterday but my ma took mah tech and yeah. BUT I UPDATED SO ITS OKAAAAY

Days slowly passed by until almost a week had gone by. And Taehyung still felt something dark and ugly settle in his mind, and he just couldn't bear the normalness of everything.

He wasn't supposed to feel like this just because Yoongi left! He was supposed to be laughing with Jimin and Chanyeol, supposed to curl up into Jeongguk's arms when night came, he was supposed to feel content with how his friends were safe at the moment.

But Yoongi had been his rock, and Taehyung had never known how much he had actually depended on the older's consistency through the past couple months. Taehyung had looked up to him as an older brother, but the kissed had changed the way he viewed Yoongi. Because now that he knew how Yoongi felt, a twisted part inside of him that told him what he was feeling was wrong, he just wanted to kiss him again.

And as the days flew by, he felt the urge to scream at anything and everything grow. As he held the feelings in, his guilt and self-hatred started to become visible in how he ate less and less.

At first it had gone unnoticed whenever Taehyung had passed on a meal or decided to give his portion to a pouty Jimin, but as time went on, his friends started to notice how much paler and skinnier he got.

It had gotten so bad that when Taehyung tried to get up one day, he ended up fainting from lightheadedness. Of course, Seokjin put him to bed and made sure somebody watch him so that he wouldn't try to get up until he got healthier.

What made Taehyung feel even worse was how Jeongguk spent the most time next to his bedridden self. He always whispered sweet nothings, even when Taehyung pretended to fall asleep. Whenever he acted like a brat, Jeongguk would smile and press gentle kisses against his scalp. Jeongguk was just so incredibly selfless in the amount of time he spent with Taehyung, but that just made him feel even worse.

Because while Jeongguk would kiss him, his mind would sometimes supply an image of Yoongi and his soft lips. Whenever that happened, Taehyung bit on the inside of his cheek until the taste of blood distracted him from any thoughts of Yoongi.

So, naturally, it was Chanyeol who suspected something was up after about three weeks. He had been observing his friend and noticed how Taehyung had recently tended to flinch in Jeongguk's presence. And the way he was acting had seemed suspicious, especially when his 'condition' started only a couple of days after Yoongi had mysteriously disappeared. There was also the way that Taehyung's eyes always drifted to the mall's exit, but the younger never seemed to realize his actions until somebody snapped him out of his daydream.

Instead of outright asking, Chanyeol decided to bide his time and wait until it was his turn to watch over Taehyung. Besides, Baekhyun was getting increasingly worried and Chanyeol was not about to deal with another phase of Baekhyun being a hot mess.

 

-

 

"Hey Tae," Chanyeol said with a smile. He sat down next to Taehyung, resting a hand on the younger's forehead. It was slightly warm, but nothing too concerning. Yet.

"Hi Channie," Taehyung mumbled. He didn't feel like talking, so he faked a yawn hoping that Chanyeol would get the hint.

He didn't.

"So, you feeling any better?" Not waiting for a response, Chanyeol started to gather blankets and heaped them onto a defenseless Taehyung.

"Hyung, I'm drowning," his voice came out muffled, but Chanyeol knew that the Taehyung was probably giving him one of his fond smiles like when they were kids.

"Ah, are you? That's too bad."

Taehyung laughed as Chanyeol continued to tease him. For a couple minutes, Chanyeol continued to mess around with him, trying to subtly lower Taehyung's guard. It was only after Taehyung had curled up in his arms that Chanyeol dared to risk questioning his fragile friend.

"Y'know, Jimin's been pestering everybody about Yoongi and when he'll get back," Chanyeol nonchalantly said. As if a trigger had been pulled, Taehyung had immediately stiffened in his arms. "Woah, you okay, Tae?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Taehyung's voice came out sounding small and hollow. The way he emotionlessly said that made Chanyeol frown in concern.

"No you're not, so shut up and let me hug you."

They stayed embraced for a while, the sounds of Namjoon snoring providing a welcome distraction. Eventually Taehyung relaxed again, his fingers once again playing with the hem of Chanyeol's shirt.

". . . what did Jimin say?"

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at Taehyung's neutral intonation. He looked down to try and decipher Taehyung's expression, but the other hid his face in Chanyeol's shirt. "All he said was why he was taking so damn long. Not to mention he's a great scavenger, so he would have helped Jeongguk find medicine for you."

Apparently, mentioning Yoongi and Jeongguk in the same sentence was a bad idea because Taehyung started to squirm uncomfortably.

"Hey, stop it!" Chanyeol scowled when Taehyung tried to push his face away. "I'm trying to help you, Taehyunnie! Don't you know how worried everybody is about you?" That got the younger to still. "Yeah, Baekhyun's started blanking out a lot again, and Jeongguk isn't looking too hot either."

Taehyung was silent, but internally he knew Chanyeol was right. Baekhyun did seem to be getting dark circles under his eyes, and the gleam in Jeongguk's eyes seemed to dull a bit more with each oncoming day.

"I'm such a horrible boyfriend," Taehyung whispered. The amount of self-loathing Chanyeol detected in Taehyung's voice made him want to mercilessly beat the living shit out of whoever made Taehyung feel that way.

"Taehyunnie, what's wrong?" Chanyeol kept his voice calm and soothing, hoping that Taehyung wouldn't shut himself up and wilt with all the rotten feelings that seemed to be dwelling inside of him.

". . . b-before Yoongi hyung left, he- he kissed me."

And if Chanyeol had had any respect for Yoongi, it had surely dissipated now. "You have a boyfriend."

Taehyung sniffed. "I know."

" _Everybody_ knows! He kissed you despite having full known that you and Jeongguk are an item!? That motherfu-!"

Taehyung's hand covered Chanyeol's mouth before his loud voice could say anything else to express his extreme anger. After Chanyeol had (relatively) cooled down, Taehyung withdrew his hand.

"That's not the worst part, hyung."

Disbelief was written all over Chanyeol's face. How could that not be the worst? That is, unless Yoongi raped-

"I want to kiss him again," Taehyung blurted, tears pricking his eyes. "I want to kiss him even though I have Jeongguk right now."

And, okay, Chanyeol blinked. That was hardly what the older was suspecting, but honestly it wasn't any better. ". . . Taehyunnie?"

Taehyung sniffed, but he nodded for Chanyeol to continue.

"Do you not love Jeongguk anymore?"

At Chanyeol's inquisition, Taehyung gave him the most affronted look he could muster in his state. "What kind of question is that? Of course I love him! He- He's wonderful and he _accepted_ me! There's no one-!"

"Then why," Chanyeol cut him off. "do you have any feelings for Yoongi? If Jeongguk is so perfect for you, why are you harboring feelings for somebody who isn't Jeongguk?"

Taehyung's mouth silently closed and his eyes furrowed in befuddlement. "I don't know . . ."

Honestly, before he had even properly met Jeongguk or Yoongi, Chanyeol had suspected something was up. The way the both of them would send such loving glances whenever Taehyung wasn't looking, and the way they both tried to one up the other in taking care of Taehyung when he was unconscious. At first Chanyeol had misunderstood Yoongi's love, but Taehyung's confession had shined a new light about their situation.

"Taehyung," Chanyeol hesitantly started. "Have you told any of this to Jeongguk?"

Taehyung's eyes widened and he frantically shook his head. "Of course not! Do you know how much much he'd hate me if I ever told him any of this!?"

Chanyeol thoughtfully rubbed his face. Not that he would ever be in _that_ kind of relationship, but maybe it would work out with those three . . .

"Tell him!" Chanyeol exclaimed, a smile slowly unfurling. "I bet if you tell Jeongguk and properly explain your feelings, you guys will understand each other! And maybe," he smirked. "Maybe Yoongi won't have to sit on the sidelines any longer."

Taehyung's mouth opened to disagree with Chanyeol, his face seemingly puzzled by the older's words, but Chanyeol wouldn't let him voice his questions. "Shut up, child! Go to sleep and think about what you'll say to lover boy."

Chanyeol tightened his grip around Taehyung, making the younger's face press against his chest. He made obnoxiously loud snores to dissuade Taehyung, a laugh bubbling in his chest when the other muttered a few choice words under his breath. As seconds ticked into minutes, Taehyung's breathing slowly evened out as he finally drifted off to sleep. Chanyeol yawned himself, cuddling closer to Taehyung.

Hopefully that brat's matured, was Chanyeol's last thought before sleep claimed him.

 

-

 

Taehyung had woken up when Chanyeol tried to discreetly untangle himself from the younger's tight clutches.

"Ha, hey there, Taehyung!" Chanyeol chirped, a bright smile on his face even as the sun was still climbing up the horizon. "I kind of gotta go. My watch started flashing, so me and the other Exo member kind of gotta check it out so if you could just- yup, thanks Taetae!" He flashed Taehyung a wink before scrambling up. "Don't worry, I'll get somebody to watch over you!"

Taehyung didn't bother to watch him leave, his eyes drooping from sleepiness. He closed his eyes and felt his breathing even out. Before he was fully asleep, he felt someone's arms enclose around him. He leaned toward them and left himself drift of into another dreamless slumber.

 

-

 

"There's people!?" Chanyeol couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

Minseok rolled his eyes, but for the sake of everybody's eardrums he sent Chanyeol a withering glare. Immediately placated, Minseok went on. "Yes, Chanyeol, there are people directly outside of the mall. Joonmyun already scouted, and he said there's three guys and four girls."

"As you all know," Joonmyun picked up. "We have a JYP member, Yugyeom. He has said that there were only three people left in his group since two are known to be dead, and one is supposedly missing in America."

Joonmyun glanced around and was pleased to see that everybody, even Jongin, was paying attention.

"From the descriptions Yugyeom had given, I can only assume that the three outside are his last known living comrades. As for the girls, I'm not entirely sure. I only recognized one, and her name is Amber. Don't be mistaken by her tomboyish appearance because she is, in fact, a girl. I'm not up to date, but the last I've heard from our _source_ , you could say, has said that she has had no affiliation with JYP until now."

Joonmyun stepped back and Minseok took his place. His face was set and his voice commanding.

"Right now, we'll stand by. If they try to enter, don't kill until we know their motives. Am I clear?"

"Crystal!" The Exo members called back, faces grim at the possibility of a fight.

Everyone except for Chanyeol. He was smiling so hard his cheeks were starting to hurt. He always did love fighting a bit too much for someone with his usual happy-go-lucky attitude.

"Usual spots!" Minseok finally said, already turning to go to his secluded spot.

"Peeeople!" Chanyeol gleefully cheered.

Baekhyun gave him a disdainful glance. "At times like this, I always wonder what's going on in that fucked up mind of yours."

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, disregarding his friend's comment. He quickly loaded his Remington with a few rounds before walking away, a spring to his step.

 

-

 

Looking at Jeongguk's sleeping face was always one of Taehyung's favorite pastimes. His face was smoothed out and seemed much more younger than when he was awake. The frown he'd have on whenever he checked Taehyung's condition was gone, his lips open as he steadily breathed in and out. Already Taehyung could tell that he would have bedhead, and that made him smile. Jeongguk always acted fussy whenever he pointed it out and that would never fail to make Taehyung laugh. 

Tentatively, he brushed back a lock of Jeongguk's hair that had begun to droop against the younger's forehead. As he retracted his hand, instead of Jeongguk's face greeting him, it was Yoongi's.

Taehyung froze, his hand still in midair. He closed his eyes, slowly counted to ten, and reopened them. Yoongi was gone, but Jeongguk's eyes were starting to flutter open. He blinked repeatedly and when his eyes landed on Taehyung, a lazy smile appeared on his face.

"Mornin'," he mumbled. After seeing how far Taehyung was, Jeongguk gave a slight frown.

"Hey," Taehyung carefully replied. He was still trying to get rid of thoughts of Yoongi, and Jeongguk wasn't really helping.

Jeongguk didn't respond, so the two of them awkwardly stared at the other. An uncomfortable silence had settled over them and Taehyung remembered Chanyeol's earlier speech. The older was right, of course, that Taehyung had to talk about his problem, but that didn't make it any easier to admit to Jeongguk.

Jeongguk reached out to pull Taehyung closer to him, but hesitated when the older closed his eyes and tensed up. Instead he sighed, forcing himself up into a sitting position. Taehyung opened his eyes wondering what had happened, the question forming on his lips, but it died at the defeated look he saw on Jeongguk's face.

"What's wrong, Kookie?" he asked.

Jeongguk sighed again. "That's what I'd like to know, Tae."

Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? Of course nothing's wrong! Why would you think something was wrong?" He crawled closer, but stopped when Jeongguk held a hand out in front of him.

"Taehyung," he drawled, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked up and Taehyung noticed that his face was drawn down in another frown. "I really didn't want to bring this up, but it seems that you don't want to be with me anymore."

Taehyung's mouth dropped at the sudden accusation but Jeongguk didn't let him interrupt as he continued.

"I didn't think so at first, but recently it's become pretty obvious that you try to avoid me, whether it's physical or verbal. Whenever I try to hold you, you seem to be uncomfortable and stiff. And whenever I kiss you, you seem to be forcing yourself to kiss me back." Jeongguk's frown became more prominent as he went on. "Look, pretty much what I'm saying is that you don't have to force yourself to be with me. I- It's not about me, so if you wanna . . ."

Taehyung felt his guilt return tenfold when he saw how heartbroken Jeongguk looked.

"No!" Taehyung all but yelled. He grabbed Jeongguk's hand and held it to his chest. "Jeongguk, I most definitely do not want to break up with you!"

The surprised look on Jeongguk's face broke his heart. How long had he been feeling this alone and unwanted? And all because Taehyung had been enwrapped with thoughts of Yoongi and what would have been if he hadn't had rejected him.

"Jeongguk," Taehyung said, much softer than his earlier exclamation. "I didn't say this before but . . ." Taehyung bit his lip in hesitation. Then he remembered how unfairly he had treated Jeongguk and decided that the younger should know the truth. "The truth is, before Yoongi left, he had kissed me. He just kissed me and said that he loved me."

Taehyung looked down, not wanting to see the furious glare that Jeongguk was probably giving him. Whether it was aimed at him or Yoongi, he didn't care. All he knew was that disappointing Jeongguk was something that he had never wanted to repeat, but it seems that Taehyung can never keep his promises. Even to himself.

"These past couple weeks, I've been thinking about Yoongi hyung when I should have just let him go. I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't stop thinking about him and the . . . kiss." Tears started to form and trail down his cheeks. "S-So, if you dump me for being the most horrible, cheating boyfriend ever, I'd be totally fine with it. But if you still want to stay together, because I honestly do love you, I swear on my life that I'll never think of Yoongi or anybody else romantically again!" His voice had gotten nasally as his tears continued to fall.

Taehyung continued crying until he started to feel an incoming headache. He used his shirt sleeve to wipe the excess tears and chanced a glance at Jeongguk.

Unsurprisingly, Jeongguk was looking away from him. He was hunched over in thought, but Taehyung just couldn't believe that the other hadn't just punched him when he broke the news.

A new silence filled with tension settled, and Taehyung's sniffs interrupted every other second. All he could was wait, and when Jeongguk turned around Taehyung couldn't help holding his breath in fearful anticipation.

Jeongguk's face seemed a bit less tense, but his lips were still tilting a bit downward. "Taehyung . . . I can't say that I like what happened between you and Yoongi, but at the same time I can't ignore it. I don't hate you or anything just because that happened, but at the same time I wished it didn't happen." Jeongguk said his words slowly and carefully as if he was reading off a notecard. "I don't want us to break up because of this because as I said before, I love you. I know you wouldn't cheat on me behind my back because that isn't your fault, but Yoongi's. But at the same time, you obviously think if Yoongi as the more than a friend."

Taehyung felt as if he would start crying again. Now he just waited for the impending break-up.

"So, I've been thinking that instead of us breaking up and all of us feeling like shit and getting mad at each other for loving you, I think, if _you_ want that is, that it'd be fine if you dated me and Yoongi . . . ?" He mumbled. Jeongguk looked at Taehyung and hastily added, "I mean, that's if he comes back and if you're both okay with it!"

At first, Taehyung was dumbstruck at what Jeongguk had proposed. Him dating Yoongi and Jeongguk at the same time? Wasn't that wrong on so many levels? But then as he familiarized himself with the idea, it started to appeal to him.

"Would you be okay with me dating Yoongi?" Taehyung quietly said. He gently placed his hand over Jeongguk's. "Would you be fine with him kissing me, with or without you watching us?"

Jeongguk took a deep breath and looked Taehyung in the eye. "Realistically? No, not really. But for your happiness, yeah. Because I don't want your guys' friendship to end because of me. This way, we can all have what we want. Of course at first me and Yoongi will compete for your attention and maybe be aggressive to each other, but I feel like in the end we'll overcome those obstacles if we have you to come back too."

Taehyung's throat bobbed as he took a nervous gulp. He's never thought of dating two people at the same time, but he also didn't want to let either of them go. "What about what the others would think about our . . . relationship?"

Jeongguk snorted, and just the way he seemed so carefree at that moment lifted Taehyung's spirit. "Who gives a fuck what they think? If we love you, then it's our business. But of course that's only if Yoongi agrees."

Now knowing that he still had Jeongguk as his lover, he couldn't help but tackle the younger and pepper kisses all over his face. Jeongguk laughed and responded with vigor. He flipped them over and placed a passionate kiss on an already breathless Taehyung.

"Man," Jeongguk whined as Taehyung continued to press kisses against his cheeks. "I already don't wanna share."

That caused a light-hearted laugh to leave Taehyung's lips. Jeongguk continued to smile, and while he didn't like the thought of Yoongi coming into their relationship, Taehyung's feelings were more important than his own.

 

-

 

"They're coming, they're coming!" Chanyeol chanted. He was abruptly cut off when Jongdae roughly pushed him into a wall.

"Fucking hate when you're like this," Jongdae grumbled as Chanyeol whined. "So trigger happy. I don't even know why Minseok hyung still let's you stay with us when you wanna shoot every newbie we see."

Chanyeol pouted as if he couldn't understand why Jongdae was being so mean.

"Even with that JYP kid a couple months back! What, Bambam? Is that what Taehyung called him?" Jongdae glowered at his partner. All Chanyeol did was give an innocent shrug. "Well guess who couldn't keep their fucking gun on safety? And how the hell did you get your hands on Joonmyun's sniper? Fucking sneaky shit, always wanting to shoot before hearin' the full explanation. Minseok hyung even made us shoot after them to cover your ass."

"How about you get that stick out of your ass and have some fun?" Chanyeol teased. He was already loading more rounds, only stopping when Jongdae wouldn't stop sending him dirty looks.

"Well Minseok'll probably tell you to hang back, so there's that."

That immediately made Chanyeol's happiness dwindle. Nobody ever let him have any fun. "You guys really suck."

Jongdae let out an incredulous laugh at his outrageous proclamation. "You'd rather kill living people than zombies and _I'm_ the sucker!? Man, I really hate it when you get into this stupid frenzy. But we better hurry before Minseok hyung gets on our dicks for being late and shit."

And Chanyeol couldn't have said yes any faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the fuck TMI, this wasn't supposed to happen. Now i have to make a fic entirely dedicated to VKook to make up for this garbage, lol. Btw, sorry for all y'all other readers, but this story is totally on the spot shit, so if you mention an idea and i like it i'll probs roll with it. Like, i was gonna make Jimin date Jongin, but if y'all want some other couple then shit, im down with it if i like it enough.
> 
> P.S. Im sorry my lovely Kako, but i hate YoonMin with a burning passion and the new couple developement kind of also prevented it. Im sorry about sounding like a dick bc ur opinion is so important to me and Im just being an ass to ur ship :(
> 
> Also, I'll never write anything with J-Hope or Rap Mon bc I cant sexualize them (that was weird to type), YoonKook, JiKook, or Jimin/Seokjin. That's pretty much it


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyye, if y'all wanna talk to meh on kik my user is : ThatRandomKnight  
> P.S. Just say TaCoS and I shall respond immediately whenever I see it :D
> 
> Shoutout to my new friend, who shall not be named, but I'm still hyped from your BAP concert xD

Taehyung and Jeongguk had been talking about nonsense when Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol had rushed down the escalators. They watched, and Taehyung wondered why Chanyeol was the only one out of the three who was smiling like an idiot.

"What's going on?" Jeongguk's voice had gone from the playful intonation from their earlier banter to complete seriousness as the others approached.

"We, and by that I mean Jongdae and I," Baekhyun sent a disconcerting look in Chanyeol's direction. "are sad to inform you that some JYP and others are approaching SM."

Jeongguk cursed as he hastily got up. He reached down and gently lifted Taehyung to his feet.

"Sooo," Jongdae drawled, pointing the butt of his gun to face Taehyung. "Who's gonna watch over Tae while we negotiate and or shoot some peeps?"

Baekhyun bit his lip in contemplation. Jeongguk opened his mouth to say something only for Chanyeol to shoot him down before he even started. "No way, Jeongguk. Your skills are too invaluable right now. We'll either put Yugyeom or Seokjin hyung with him. Or both."

Jeongguk's eyes narrowed, but he didn't disagree. He looked at Taehyung and cupped his cheek. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Taehyung's before turning away to catch up with Baekhyun and Jongdae who had started to go upstairs.

Chanyeol had stayed behind, raising an eyebrow as he walked closer to Taehyung. "Sooo. I see you two have made up."

Taehyung rolled his eyes and playfully pushed him away. "You don't have to rub it in, hyung."

"No no, I am not in any possible way rubbing it in," Chanyeol said with a smirk.

"Aren't you gonna check on the newcomers?" Taehyung scolded.

Chanyeol's eyes lit up and he quickly turned to chase after Baekhyun and them.

  


-

  


"Yeah," Jeongguk stated. He was looking out the windows, glaring at the newcomers who were quickly closing in on the mall. "Those guys are definitely JYP's. It's the girls I'm not so sure about."

He glanced back in time to catch Minseok nod. "Okay. Thank you, Jeongguk. Now, Joonmyun, Kyungsoo and I are going to confront them." Minseok looked around his group and his eyes settled on Hoseok and Jongdae. "You two watch that Chanyeol doesn't do something incredibly stupid and impulsive."

Jongdae groaned while Hoseok's face sported a disappointed look. Chanyeol looked absolutely devastated, his gun even clattering to the ground in shock.

"Hyung, you can't do that," he whispered, his voice filled with disbelief.

Everybody looked at him in exasperation.

"Stop being so melodramatic," Baekhyun scowled, kicking his friend's shin.

With Chanyeol's whimpers of pain in the background, Minseok continued. "Taehyung, I want you and Seokjin to stay in the cafeteria for now. Yugyeom, so as not to cause any . . . _complications,_ I'll need you to go with them. And the rest of you," he yelled, circling his gun around them, "stay posted. I want guns trained on them at all times. Only shoot when I do this." Minseok showed them three quick hand gestures. "Got it?" Everybody nodded. "Okay, let's go!"

Everybody immediately dispersed, Seokjin grabbing Yugyeom and Taehyung's arms as he pulled them along to go upstairs.

"They'll be fine, right?" Taehyung kept repeating as they sat themselves at a table in the cafeteria. Taehyung nervously touched his pink bat that he managed to convince Kyungsoo to give him back.

Seokjin gave him a gentle pat on the head, along with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Tae, they'll be fine."

  


-

  


Yoongi was dying.

Of boredom.

"Fuckin' dumb for reds," he muttered under his breath as he bashed the butt of his gun into a reddie that was a bit too close for comfort.

The past couple weeks had been repetitive for him. At first he had been scared, though he'd never admit it, that no one would be there to cover him in case something went wrong. He's always at least had Seokjin or Namjoon, but now he was completely alone.

The feeling had passed as time went on and more zombies, red and normal, fell at the devastating power that came with Yoongi's pent up frustration. It was liberating. Yoongi had loved the outlet they had provided, but now the loneliness was starting to settle in.

And now that he was alone, that meant there was no one there to distract him from thoughts of Taehyung.

At first they were nice thoughts that Yoongi couldn't help but envy.

Yoongi running his hands through the younger's hair. Them holding hands while Taehyung gave him his trademark smile that seemed to shine brighter than the sun.

And then, gradually, his thoughts got dirtier.

Taehyung's sultry voice moaning his name. The way Taehyung would sensually arch into Yoongi's hands as he pleasured him. The absolutely wrecked look that Taehyung would have after he orgasmed.

"Fuck," Yoongi panted. His pants had gotten notably tighter, but he felt too guilty to take care of the problem after what he'd done to Taehyung.

Even though he felt that overwhelming guilt, once every two days he'd find himself staring at SM mall in all its glory. He never went back inside, but he liked to think of those little trips as checkups on his friends.

He sighed and ruffled his hair. Today was the day he'd check up on then again. He slipped his hand behind to his back pocket and pulled out a lighter. Quickly following after was a cigarette.

There was a gurgling sound from his left, and Yoongi turned to see a little girl. She was, to put it lightly, absolutely hideous. Half her face was missing, and her head was bare of any hair at all. She was a normal zombie, so Yoongi was able to blankly stare into her dull eyes. He stuck the cig in his mouth and lit it.

She suddenly jerked forward, only to stumble as the charger cord around her neck yanked her back.

Yoongi stared at her. There was a small doll he had found at the entrance which he assumed had been her's before the infection took over. It would have been a pretty thing, he mused as he turned it over in his hands, if the blood and dirt wasn't stained into its fabric.

"Just a child," Yoongi quietly said, his voice sounding morose, even to himself. When he had first encountered her he didn't have the heart to kill her, so instead he just tied her up with leftover phone chargers. He put away his lighter and set down the doll to rub his eyes.

The girl slowly got up, but she didn't charge at him again.

Yoongi stared at her for a while before deciding to leave his little makeshift shelter. He grabbed his gun, made sure it was loaded, then crushed his cigarette and grabbed his supplies in case he wasn't able to return before nightfall. It was still early, but one could never be too careful.

He jumped in surprise when his stomach suddenly growled in hunger. He glared at nothing in particular before letting out a loud groan.

"Time to go see if I can find some food. Oh, and I guess I'll check up on those fuckers too."

  


-

  


"Stop it!" Jongdae hissed.

Chanyeol had been trying to crawl out of the second story window (yeah, he was _that_ desperate) but had been caught by his babysitter. Hoseok was glaring at him while Jongdae grabbed his pants and started to pull him back in.

"You piece of shit," Jongdae grunted. He pulled harder, ignoring Chanyeol's yelp of pain when his head hit the sill. "Didn't fuckin' learn your lesson last time, got us in trouble with JYP, _and_ your dumbass is still lookin' for a fight."

"Stooooop," Chanyeol whined while patting at his injured head. "I just wanted a better view!"

Jongdae scowled at him, "Oh I'll sure as hell give you a _better_ view!" and he gave one last pull which had Chanyeol collapsing atop of him. Hoseok laughed at Chanyeol's surprised face as Jongdae's arms flailed around.

"Get the fuck off me!"

  


-

  


"Stop right there," Minseok's voice rang out through the entrance. His voice was magnified by a megaphone that Joonmyun had given him.

Jeongguk watched as Jaebum and his friends (teammates? Hell, who actually cares?) stopped a couple of yards ahead of the entrances. The girls with him seemed to hesitate, but they eventually came to a stop as well. Jaebum's head tilted and he seemed to say something to them. The girls nodded and immediately stood in defensive positions.

"Hey, I've seen those girls before," Jimin whispered.

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't comment.

"It was before Taehyung and I met- well, more like got invaded by Yoongi and them."

At the mention of Yoongi's name, Namjoon wandered closer to them.

"The only one I really remember is that girl with short hair. From our hiding spot, Taehyung had mistaken her for a guy, so we almost gave away our spot because we were fighting over which of us was right about her gender. I won by the way."

Jeongguk rolled his eyes, his smile mocking. Only those two would risk their lives to try to prove the other wrong.

"I'm surprised we managed to get to you guys before somebody else did," Namjoon gave an exaggerated sigh.

"So was I," Jimin shrugged, an amused smile on his face. "But I'm sure glad you guys did. I'm pretty sure Taehyung would have died from starvation if you guys hadn't taken us in. Even though you guys did technically try to kill us at first."

Jeongguk wanted to laugh, but a movement from the corner of his eye made his head snap in Jaebum's direction.

Jaebum and a girl with long black hair had stepped forward. Her clothes were ripped and ragged, and for some reason she had a bright headband with some intricate design on it. Jeongguk glanced at Minseok who was waving them forward. They hesitated, only walking forward at their friends encouragements.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Jongin asked, surprising Jeongguk. Jimin shrugged as he put an arm around his and Jeongguk's neck.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Minseok hyung is gonna tell at us for not doing our jobs."

Namjoon snorted as he raised his gun. "Speak for yourself, pipsqueak."

Jimin made an affronted noise. Jeongguk watched Jimin's lips form a retort which morphed into a loud gasp. Everybody looked at him in suspicion, even the girls.

"What the hell, Jimin?" Jeongguk said impatiently. When the older didn't respond, Jeongguk let out a huff and followed the direction Jimin's eyes were so drawn too.

"What the . . ." he heard Namjoon trail off.

Jongin's hand unconsciously formed a fist as he followed the other three. "I thought he was gone!?"

Jeongguk felt many emotions run through him, but the most surprising was relief. He laughed at the absurdity of it all.

The girls were quick learners as they backed away from the newest arrival. Jinyoung and Youngjae followed them as they made sure their backs weren't facing either of them.

"Well well well," Jeongguk shouted, walking forward from his dumbfounded comrades. The girls flinched at his sudden exclamation. "Look who's come back from wild. So tell me, _Yoongi_ , how did your little journey of self discovery go?"

  


-

  


Chanyeol couldn't believe it. Jongdae, his second closest friend (well maybe fifth, he wasn't exactly sure) had actually tied him to a toy box!

"Yah," he tried to wriggle his way out of the rope but Jongdae's knotting skills were no laughing matter. "Jongdae, isn't this a little extreme? I mean, c'mon! It's not like I was trying to give you that black eye!"

Hoseok gave Chanyeol such an irritated look that a bit of shame crawled into his conscious. Jongdae hadn't even bothered to spare him a glance.

". . . okay, but at least I didn't kick you in balls like last time . . ."

  


-

  


"What's going on?" Yugyeom voiced all of their worries.

Taehyung's fingers were tapping away at their table, his eyes skittishly searching around for something to take his mind off all the tension he felt.

"How about we explore?" Seokjin suggested. "We don't have to go that far, and Suzy hasn't been trying to kill us so that's a bonus. Besides," he glanced at Taehyung who had started to bounce his leg at a frantic pace, "I'm pretty sure we need something to take our minds off all this craziness."

Taehyung lifted his head, sparing Seokjin a brisk nod. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

  


-

  


"Could you be any more patronizing?" Yoongi sarcastically said to mask the disdain that was slipping into his voice.

God did he hate that kid.

Jeongguk smirked, glancing to the side to make sure Jinyoung and them weren't gonna suddenly jump the two of them. They were far enough away he observed, but he still made sure they were always in his view.

"What's going on?" Yoongi whispered when he got closer. Even though he hated the brat, Yoongi had to admit that the little bugger was almost a good a fighter as him or Namjoon.

Jeongguk's face went from snarky to solemn. "As you can see, Jaebum and his crew are here. I don't know why, but I'm guessing he wants to know what happened to Jackson and Yugyeom."

Jeongguk paused, and Yoongi raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something else I need to know, Jeon?"

"I hate you," Jeongguk passively stated.

Yoongi sighed in defeat and waited for the punch to come. But it didn't, and Jeongguk didn't even seem angry which confused him to no end.

". . . I've always hated you too. So, I guess we're even . . . ?"

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. He raised his arm, causing Yoongi to close his eyes for the awaited punch. Instead his arm was grabbed and Jeongguk, with a surprising amount of strength, started to yank him forward to SM's entrance.

"What are you doing?" Yoongi stumbled a bit, yet he still managed to keep pace with Jeongguk.

Jeongguk glanced at him, a small strained smile on his fac. "Don't worry, Yoongi. In fact, I'm sure you'll be quite surprised with what Taehyung and I have to tell you."

Yoongi groaned and knew he was about to die for his rash action. He looked back to catch one last glimpse of the cloudless sky before the mall's walls were once again enclosed around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmigod trying to create sexual situations is so weird and I'm cringing so much xDDD


	18. Chapter 18

Seokjin sighed as he watched his friends struggle.

As they were wandering around K-Mart, Taehyung and Yugyeom had decided it would be a great idea to get into one of those bouncy ball containers with the the elastic wires.

Of course Seokjin had protested, but they had crawled in regardless. He had watched them laugh and try to push the brightly colored plastic balls from their faces before the terrible realization settled when they figured out they were stuck in the elastic.

"Help," Taehyung whined, his view of Seokjin upside since he was hanging from his foot. "I think my leg's losing circulation."

Seokjin shook his head but helped him untangle his foot. Taehyung dropped with a pained 'oomph'. Next was Yugyeom whose arms and legs were entangled.

"You guys are so childish," Seokjin scolded after he had pulled Yugyeom next to a groaning Taehyung. "I told you guys not to act rashly."

"But I've always wanted to do it," Taehyung mumbled. He rubbed his head and winced at the small bump he found.

Seokjin rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to lecture them even further, but he faintly heard Jeongguk's familiar voice yelling something. His face became troubled and he started for his gun.

"Stay here," he ordered, "and make sure to hide yourselves in one of the aisles or something. I'll be right back."

Taehyung nodded even though Seokjin had already left. He looked at Yugyeom who was letting out muffled groans of pain into Taehyung's pants.

"Yah," Taehyung muttered. "Into the aisle with you."

Slowly, Taehyung got up and stretched, his back giving a satisfying crack. He looked around and then down at Yugyeom who still hadn't moved.

"Of course you haven't moved," Taehyung mockingly said. He leaned down to grab Yugyeom's feet and dragged him into they toy aisle. "Fuck, you're heavy."

Five minutes of poking Yugyeom later, Taehyung started to hear familiar voices reach their hiding spot.

"Taehyung, Yugyeom," Seokjin called. "You guys can come on out."

Yugyeom slowly got up while Taehyung just got up and sprinted out of the aisle. He paused by a toy lightsaber, grabbed it, and dramatically jumped out.

"May the force-" Taehyung started before his eyes landed on a surprised Yoongi, Jeongguk, and a defeated looking Seokjin. ". . . be with you . . ."

Seokjin glanced between them. Yoongi was tense and Jeongguk seemed a bit nervous as well. "Well, I'll be going. I'm pretty sure Yugyeom needs me for . . . something."

Taehyung didn't even pay attention as Seokjin left, mumbling nonsense under his breath. The lightsaber dropped, his fingers having loosened around the plastic toy. Taehyung looked at Jeongguk, his eyes searching.

Jeongguk, the nerves disappearing, subtly nodded in Taehyung's direction. He gave his boyfriend a soft smile and pushed Yoongi forward.

Yoongi stumbled before catching himself. He sent a glare back to a smiling Jeongguk, then turned to face a quiet Taehyung.

"Hey," Yoongi muttered. He gripped his gun a bit tighter as an awkward silence settled. "Look, I-"

Taehyung didn't let him finish. In the time Yoongi had been steeling himself, Taehyung had already decided to make his move. His lips were pressed against Yoongi's, Taehyung's body pressed completely against his. Yoongi dropped his gun, glad it was on safety, then reached up to tightly grip the younger's hair. When he roughly tiled Taehyung's head back, his lips opened in a groan, making the perfect excuse for Yoongi to slip his tongue in.

It was wet and dirty the way Taehyung didn't want to pull away and kept pressing closer to him for more. He whimpered when Yoongi pulled away, his lips a dark red and cheeks flushed a pretty pink. His eyes were dilated and Yoongi couldn't have felt more ecstatic than in that moment.

He felt like he was _home_.

Jeongguk's sudden laugh surprised him as he sidled next to them. He sent Yoongi a nod and took Taehyung's chin and replaced Yoongi's lips with his. Yoongi watched, hormones and confusion flitting around in his mind. Their kiss was less intense, but just as passionate. Jeongguk seemed to take his time tasting the other's mouth, even managing to make Taehyung shamelessly grind against him.

"Woooah," Seokjin's high pitched voice interrupted their make out session. Yoongi glanced at him and smirked at the way the older was covering his eyes. "Guys, I'm glad you all made up, but at least let me leave without having to seen live pornography."

Taehyung let out a breathless laugh. "Sorry, hyung. Guess we got a little carried away."

Jeongguk snorted, pulling Taehyung closer. "I'd say we haven't gone far enough."

Seokjin scowled, pulling a dazed Yugyeom along. "Shut up. We're leaving, so please continue once we leave. Or not. At least have lube or something. Oh my god, what am I saying!?"

Yoongi couldn't help a snicker at his friend's predicament. He watched them leave and felt a hand intertwine with his. He turned and saw Taehyung giving him a fond smile.

"Hey," Taehyung softly said. He pulled Yoongi closer and pressed a light kiss against his neck.

Yoongi sent a questioning glance at Jeongguk but the younger just shrugged.

"Tae," he asked. "What's going on?"

Taehyung looked at Jeongguk. "Didn't you tell him?"

Jeongguk let out a sheepish laugh. "Uh, I was kind of waiting until we all got together . . . ?"

Taehyung pouted and gave Jeongguk a gentle shove. "You're such a slacker." He faced Yoongi and gave him a shy smile. It was ironic, Yoongi thought, when he had just been moaning for him only seconds earlier. "Yoongi, would you be fine with me dating you and Jeongguk?"

Yoongi blinked. He had already accepted that Taehyung was probably never going to love him like Jeongguk, but this was a twist he hadn't expected.

Not that he was upset with it. He had just witnessed Taehyung and Jeongguk get it on and he hadn't felt uncomfortable. And it's not like sharing Taehyung was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Yeah," Yoongi nodded. "I'm down with that."

Taehyung gave him a blinding smile before bringing him down for an awkward kiss. It wasn't really a kiss since they were both smiling so wide and Taehyung giggled against his lips. Jeongguk whined, causing Taehyung to turn and press lots of sweet kisses all over his face.

"You guys are so fucking cute," Taehyung cooed. He pinched Jeongguk's cheeks, then Yoongi's when he had heard the older laugh at Jeongguk's treatment.

 

*

 

"You just let them go!?" Chanyeol gaped at Minseok.

The older let out a loud sigh. He rubbed his temples and wondered what he did in his past life to deserve such an annoyingly destructive comrade.

"If you and Jongdae had just let me-"

"For fuck's sake, Chanyeol!" Minseok yelled, shutting Chanyeol up in an instant. "Leave me alone! I'm sorry I didn't let you fucking kill everybody in sight, okay!? Is that what you want? To put a bullet in everybody's head? Just . . . !" His voice trailed off at the hurt look on Chanyeol's face. ". . . just leave me alone."

"Aye boss leader," Baekhyun started as he walked into GameStop. "I heard you yelling and-"

He was cut off when Chanyeol roughly pushed past him. Baekhyun silently watched him leave and looked at Minseok's slumped form.

"Should I ask what happened here?"

Minseok shook his head. He got up and headed to the back, presumably to their alcohol stash.

Baekhyun nodded and glanced at where Chanyeol had stormed off. "'M pretty sure I didn't wanna know anyways."

 

*

 

"As much as I'd like to have sex on the floor," Jeongguk grunted when Taehyung would not stop grinding against him while his tongue was shoved down Yoongi's throat. "I'm pretty sure it's not safe, much less sanitary. And Seokjin was kinda right about the missing condoms and lube."

Taehyung, regretfully, pushed Yoongi away, a string of saliva connecting them.

"Gross," Jeongguk laughed. He grabbed Taehyung's hand and pulled him along who in turn dragged Yoongi along.

Taehyung let out a loud laugh, giving Jeongguk a reminiscent look. "Choo, choo!"

Yoongi hid a smile as he watched the two mess around, making each other laugh at how silly the other could be. It was nice, and now Yoongi had no reason to feel jealous or hatred toward Jeongguk.

Because now he had everything he wanted. The loneliness was gone, Taehyung was smiling at him, and Jeongguk wasn't all that bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TaeTaeCrazed, I'm extremely sorry that you feel that way. I honestly value your opinion, and it hurt me that you were so disappointed, but I understand your point of view. If you would, I'd also like to explain mine, and Yoongi's point of view in the story, but not to change your mind, but for you to understand. You don't have to accept my sudden pairing change, but I just want you to see it from my pov so I don't seem like an asshole bc you're such a wonderful person who has been with me since the beginning and it tears me apart bc now I wanna change my story just to appease you.
> 
> So, Yoongi has in fact only known Tae for months, not years. Roughly 3 to 4. Of course he became attached to his happy/cheery personality, but he had a team to take care of so he didn't act on his feelings, waiting for the right time. But then Jeon comes into the picture and he immediately swoops in on Tae, they guy he'd been crushing on for weeks/months while he was making sure their little family didn't fall apart. He saw them getting closer and it killed him inside. Of course Yoongi wanted to go save Tae! It hurt him to say no, but he couldn't risk Seokjin and Nam's lives just to go on mission to save Tae when he wasn't even sure he was alive! But Seokjin saw that, and managed to convinced Yoongi that they'd stay by his side so he went and saved Tae from Jackson. Then everything went down the drain for him when tae got sick and he got so worried. And then someone told him that Tae and Jeon were dating!? Of course he was heartbroken. And the kiss was selfish, but it was the last thing he had left. Jeon knew how important Tae was to him, so he complied and came up with a compromise. And Tae, being ever forgiving, accepted Yoongi with open arms.
> 
> That's all I have to say on why I switched to this pairing. TaeTaeCrazed, you are very important to me and I hate that I made you feel that way, but I will not change the pairing bc I feel this is right. I thank you for your consideration and kindhearted comments in the past, and I hope (whether you continue reading or not) that you enjoyed the story.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there's smut. Yes, it's overdue. No, I don't regret anything

If Taehyung had to describe the following days after Yoongi had returned, he'd say it was perfect. Every morning he'd wake up snuggled in between his two precious boyfriends, their adorable sleeping faces just making him want to kiss them forever even though they weren't awake.

It had gotten to the point where Jimin fake gagged whenever Jeongguk and Yoongi playfully fought for Taehyung's attention. "You guys are disgustingly cheesy."

And really, he couldn't blame Jimin because they did love to shower Taehyung with affection, Yoongi more conserved while Jeongguk had to always be in close contact with him at every second of the day. But really, Taehyung wouldn't do anything to stop them since they were all so happy and carefree.

"My turn," Yoongi said, pulling Taehyung away from Jeongguk and sitting him on his lap.

Jeongguk scowled, pushing Yoongi's face away as he tried to squeeze in between them. "I only had him for an hour, Yoongi! Tae, come- oh shit!" He yelped, falling from his makeshift spot when Yoongi hauled him over the side of his legs.

Taehyung couldn't stop a laugh as he cuddled closer to Yoongi. Jeongguk glared up at them, but it eventually softened to a small smile.

"I hate you two," Jeongguk huffed as he rolled over and got up.

"Sure you do," Yoongi smirked, pressing a light kiss against Taehyung's temple.

Taehyung felt content, and even though he could hear Chanyeol screaming upstairs about losing his stupid match, he couldn't help the warm feeling that buzzed through him. Jeongguk got up, brushing the dust off of his clothes and looked down at them.

"Y'know," he started, a sly smile appearing on his face. "When I was out yesterday, I found something quite interesting." Jeongguk looked around, making sure the coast was clear as he went over to the fake plants and pulled out a rather plain looking bottle.

Yoongi started laughing, his body shaking Taehyung's. "Wow, you really want to do that while the others are here?"

Taehyung curiously glanced between the two of them, but neither gave him any explanation.

"I mean if he wants to then yeah, why wait?" Jeongguk mused, walking over to place the nondescript bottle in Taehyung's hands.

"What is-" Taehyung didn't even get to finish his question before he saw the answer. His face flushed a bright pink, the word 'Lube' popping out at him. "Oh. You wanna...?" he trailed off, looking up at Jeongguk.

Yoongi laughed even harder as Jeongguk nodded. "Yep. But only if you want to of course!" he hurriedly added as his arms flailed around. He continued to ramble, but Taehyung turned the bottle in his hands, his face set in a curious look.

"Let's do it," he firmly stated, standing up. He turned to face the two, both of their faces blank.

"... right now?" Yoongi asked, glancing at Jeongguk. They seemed to have a silent conversation that Taehyung disregarded as he walked to the mattress store to look for a comfortable bed.

 

-

 

"Okay," Yoongi told Jeongguk as they looked for Taehyung. "We locked this place down so nobody, people or zombies, can interrupt. We have the watch just in case shit does go down and ..."

It's not like Yoongi meant to trail off, but he's pretty sure Taehyung was not supposed to be fingering himself while splayed out on one of the grander beds of the store. They had just secured the area and the kid was already impatient. Jeongguk had followed his gaze, curious as to why he had stopped. His mouth opened in a small 'o' as his eyes raked over Taehyung's tan form, his breathy whimpers easily heard over the silence that had settled.

"Couldn't fucking wait," Yoongi growled, quickly stripping down to nothing as he clambered onto the bed, entangling his hands in Taehyung's hair as he roughly forced the younger to look up at him. "Risking your fucking life just to get off. You're such a horny fuck."

Taehyung's eyes were already hazy, Yoongi's words not registering in his mind as he whimpered for the older's touch. And Yoongi, not one to be patient, made sure to lean down and kiss the younger with abandon.

And all while Jeongguk was staring, completely speechless as he saw them quite openly tongue fuck each other. "... and he calls _me_ insatiable?"

The youngest was also impatient though, so he didn't waste any time in practically tearing off his clothes and stumbling over to them.

During that time Yoongi had pulled back from their open-mouthed kiss, a string of saliva connecting them. Usually he'd find it disgusting, but seeing Taehyung's debauched appearance pleased him.

"Hold his hands," Yoongi commanded to Jeongguk when he had clambered on next to them. Of course the other protested, but a glare from the older had him begrudgingly complying. He returned his attention to Taehyung, who was once again whining for attention. "And gag him, he's too fucking loud."

So as Yoongi went down, slowly prepping their eager little bottom, Jeongguk felt it was his turn to make-out with his beloved boyfriend. It had started off sweet, quiet little moans whispered against his lips. Then Taehyung started to trace his tongue over Jeongguk's lips and he lost his composure.

Immediately Jeongguk tasted the sweet essence that was Taehyung. It was hot, and Jeongguk felt the other entangle his fingers into his hair as he tried to pull him closer. When they pulled back for air, all he could hear were Taehyung's soft whimpers, his quiet cries of _more_ , and Jeongguk was sure as hell going to give him more.

Then Taehyung let out his loudest cry yet, and Jeongguk turned to see- "You mother fucker!" He hissed, seeing that Yoongi had taken his distraction in stride and had bottomed out in their pretty little Taehyung.

"First come first serve," Yoongi grinned, though his voice was breathless because _shit_ , Taehyung was clamping down on his cock as if he never wanted to let go.

"Nope, get the fuck out," Jeongguk growled, and Taehyung let out what he could only classify as a wail when he manhandled Yoongi out and away from his precious Taehyung.

"Are you five?" Yoongi incredulously asked as the two kept flipping and trying to overwhelm the other. 

Taehyung watched, completely unimpressed and- well, now they were aggressively making out. That was great. He was horny, they were ignoring him and demeaning each other while sticking their tongues down each others throats. Honestly, what else had Taehyung expected from the two? The tension had always been there after all.

It was a good thing he had two hands, because Taehyung was not about to wait for somebody to fuck him. He felt his breath hitch as he slipped three fingers in easily, his other hand leisurely stroking himself. It was a delicious burn, and hearing the two beside him argue about who was who's bitch didn't deter him in the slightest.

Jeongguk didn't know what the hell had happened, but he really did want to punch Yoongi in the face. They had moved on from biting to hair pulling (because Yoongi was a cheating bastard) when Taehyung's high-pitched moan filtered in through his muddled mind of wanting to fuck Yoongi up. And yep, there Taehyung was in all his glory, bucking up into the air for friction that would never happen. He glanced down at Yoongi, who had also been intently watching Taehyung fuck himself, and when their eyes met they both immediately knew what to do.

"Wha-" Taehyung was taken off guard when his fingers were pulled out, crying out when Jeongguk's quickly replaced them. Unlike Yoongi, Jeongguk curled his fingers with a purpose, a smirk coming on when Taehyung wordlessly sobbed while he arched his back.

"Now that's how you finger your boyfriend," Jeongguk taunted Yoongi.

The older had been focusing on Taehyung, his eyes tracing over each ridge of his body and committing it to memorization. Then Jeongguk had snapped him out of it, scowling at the younger. "I know how to finger my boyfriend, you brat."

As if to challenge the youngest, Yoongi lubed up his fingers and delicately added one next to Jeongguk's three. Taehyung fucking _keened_ , already sobbing for release. Of course they wouldn't have that this early, so Jeongguk made sure his other hand tightly wrapped around the base of Taehyung's weeping member.

"No- please," Taehyung cried out, his hands going down to tug at Jeongguk's hand. Yoongi made sure he didn't, giving the other a reprimanding bite on his inner thigh.

"Behave," Yoongi threatened, carefully adding a second finger into Taehyung's tight heat. It was incredible just how easily he accepted their fingers, his thighs shaking as Jeongguk ruthlessly abused his prostate. "You started without us, your dedicated boyfriends who fucking secured this shit hole, so the least you could do is be patient long enough for us to stretch and then fuck you."

The entire time Taehyung was moaning, none of Yoongi's words processing as a third finger slipped in and it _wasn't enough_. He needed to cum, Jeongguk needed to take his hand off and please please _please_ -

"So pretty," Jeongguk softly murmured, now circling Taehyung's prostate so he could calm down. "Fuck Taehyung, I wish you could see how gorgeous you look right now. Your legs spread out like a slut for us, both of our fingers fucking into you, and yet you still want more."

Taehyung couldn't even respond, trying to catch his breath. His hands were clenching the blankets, knuckles probably white, and suddenly their fingers pulled out. He felt incredibly empty, and no no _no_ , "Jeongguk, Yoongi!" he begged, hoping they hadn't left him to make out again.

"So needy," Jeongguk teased, aligning his cock to Taehyung's gaping entrance. The other was eagerly bucking back, and this time Jeongguk decided not to play around any longer. He easily slid in, meeting no resistance as he fully sheathed himself inside the older. "Fucking hell, Tae," he hissed, his nails digging into Taehyung's hips.

Yoongi had not been exaggerating his reaction when he had first entered Taehyung, Jeongguk now having realized that. He glanced down, his love for the older becoming blatantly obvious as he delicately brushed Taehyung's matted bangs back, peppering light kisses over his face as Yoongi settled down beside him. "Hyung, Yoongi's going to enter you now. Please bear with it, okay?"

And Taehyung nodded, but Jeongguk still saw him flinch in slight pain as Yoongi slowly pushed in next to Jeongguk.

It was slow, torturous, and yet Taehyung felt content as Yoongi bottomed out. They stayed incredibly still, not wanting to hurt Taehyung any more than they already had.

Jeongguk was more obvious in his concern, repeatedly asking _are you okay, does it hurt, we can stop whenever_. Yoongi stayed silent, but his eyes never left Taehyung's face as he rubbed comforting circles on his hip. Taehyung knew if he said stop, the two would follow without any hesitation. Because of that, he didn't want them to. He knew he was in good hands, so he dismissed their questions and slowly adjusted to the two of them.

"Y-You can move now," Taehyung hoarsely whispered, clenching around the two. It was rather lewd, and he felt embarrassed at how shy he was acting when two fucking dicks were inside of him.

Testing out the waters, Jeongguk made sure to give a slow thrust. The three of them made pleased noises, Taehyung the most vocal while Yoongi let out a shaky sigh. After that it was a bit awkward, Yoongi and him arguing again as they tried to find a comfortable pace. Eventually they got into a rather comfortable rhythm, though Jeongguk kept trying to pick up the pace.

"This isn't a fucking race," Yoongi scowled, punctuating his words with sharp thrusts. Each earned him quite loud moans, and Jeongguk was obviously pissed as Yoongi gave him a smug look.

"I'll show you a fucking race, ahjussi," Jeongguk muttered. He already knew where the older's prostate was, and in only a few thrusts he had Taehyung incoherently babbling nonsense. It then transformed into a mantra of Jeongguk's name, and now it was his turn to look smug.

Then Taehyung practically screamed in pleasure as the the two were now insistently pounding into him, their competitiveness not letting up at all. He loved and hated it at the same time.

"Shit!" Jeongguk grunted, Taheyung having tightened around them as he suddenly came. Tears were streaming down his face, quiet little moans of their names spilling from his lips.

The two were quick to follow after that, the heat and friction against each other too much. Yoongi bit down on Taehyung's shoulder as he came, Jeongguk having just loudly yelled Taehyung's name. As they rode out their orgasms, Taehyung could only pathetically whimper and squirm a bit as he was overstimulated.

"Let's do that again!" Jeongguk panted, laughing at how Taehyung just flipped him off.

Yoongi ignored the younger, collapsing next to Taehyung and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Shut up, you're too loud. And since you're so full of energy, feel free to clean yourself up and tell Seokjin hyung that Taehyung's not being tortured and eaten alive by zombies."

Because yes, Taehyung had been that fucking loud. Yoongi wasn't complaining, finding it more attractive than not, but the others probably didn't appreciate the younger screaming his name. Repeatedly. As well as Jeongguk's.

"Sure sure," Jeongguk cheerily said, though all he did was take the empty side of the bed and snuggle next to Taehyung.

"You're such a twat," Yoongi muttered, tightening his hold on Taehyung as he pulled the other closer to him.

"You came first," Jeongguk accused. At Yoongi's indignant scoff, Taehyung sighed though a fond feeling fluttered inside of him. They were adorable, even though their petty fights made him want to smack them upside the head.

Abruptly, a high-pitched static sound rang throughout the room. Realizing it was the mall intercom, they quieted down.

"... I just wanted a peaceful search," Seokjin sounded so distressed, and Taehyung couldn't feel guilty as Jeongguk loudly laughed. "Oh, and Bakehyun said he's traumatized. I didn't mean for him to follow me when I was looking for you guys, he just did."

After that, the noise cut out. This time it was Yoongi who got up. He came back with tissue and they cleaned themselves up.

"I can't walk," Taehyung said after he had been handed his clothes. Well, he could, its just that his limp would be obvious as hell.

Yoongi glanced at Jeongguk who just shrugged. Sighing, the oldest came to Taehyung, and that's how he ended up on the other's back as they headed back to 'civilization'.

(Taehyung couldn't look Seokjin in the eye, much less Baekhyun and a snickering Chanyeol. Not to mention Jeongguk felt the need to brag, making Namjoon tape his mouth shut.)


End file.
